The Badger Trust has lost its appeal against trial badger culls set to go ahead in areas of Gloucestershire and Somerset. The Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that culling is lawful; the Trust had suggested the government had misused a section of the Protection of badgers Act in its culling plans.

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However, Lord Justices Laws, Rimer and Sullivan of the Court of Appeal in London rejected the Badger Trust’s challenge yesterday after a hearing which had been expedited at Defra’s request. This means culling could begin in a few weeks’ time in England.

Defra, supported by the British veterinary Association and the NFU, maintains culling is one effective means of addressing the problem of bovine TB, which has cost the UK £500 million over the past decade.

The Badger Trust had said Section 10 (2)(a) that the use of the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act should not be used in cull licensing, as killing badgers “would prompt rather than prevent the spread of disease within an area,” running counter to the purpose of the act. It was on these grounds that the appeal was granted following the Trust’s defeat in the High Court in July.

Nevertheless, despite Monday’s ruling, the Trust maintains that, legal or otherwise, culling badgers will prove a costly, inhumane and inefficient method of tackling bovine TB. A number of prominent scientists, including Lord Krebs, who led the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, and Dr Chris Cheeseman, former head of Defra’s Central Science Laboratory, which deals with badger ecology, have also condemned culling.

Commenting after the court’s decision Phil Hudson, NFU head of food and farming, said, “We are reassured to hear today’s outcome. Given the public interest in this issue, we always knew that there would be a legal challenge to the policy. We are pleased that the judges upheld the High Court’s decision.”

However, Mark Jones, a veterinarian and Executive Director of Humane Society International/UK, said yesterday, “Today’s judgement is a devastating blow for badgers and for the protection of our wildlife against DEFRA’s ill-thought-out and unscientific plans. HSI UK’s complaint at the Council of Europe’s Bern Convention is now the badgers’ last hope against this bloody and pointless slaughter.

“As signatories to Bern, the UK is obliged to keep the badger population out of danger, a duty that is unquestionably abused by the plan to shoot and kill the vast majority of these magical animals in local areas. England’s badgers are relying on Bern to succeed where the British High Court and Court of Appeal have failed.”

HSI has lodged a challenge to Defra’s culling policy with the Bern Convention, which is responsible for defending Europe’s Wildlife and under which badgers are listed as a protected species. The challenge has been backed by a number of naturalists, journalists and scientists, including Sir David Attenborough, who recently appeared in a video released by HSI.

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