Charity seeks review of badger cull

A conservation charity has said it is seeking a judicial review of a decision to order a badger cull in parts of Wales.

The Badger Trust has formally asked for the decision made by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to be postponed while she responds to a letter it has sent.

The Assembly Government said it had received a letter from solicitors and would be considering its response.

Ms Jones announced at the end of September that she had taken the decision to sign and lay the order to give Welsh Ministers the power to cull and/or vaccinate badgers in Wales.

Her move followed a 14-week public consultation on culling badgers in a bid to eradicate bovine TB.

The order came into force 21 days after Ms Jones' announcement on September 30. There is a 40-day period in which Assembly Members can propose a motion that the order be annulled.

The Trust said the order was at odds with scientific evidence and that a debate on the order is due to be held at the Assembly on Wednesday.

Trust chairman David Williams said: "We have embarked on the process of judicial review with great reluctance because of our constructive relationship with the Welsh Assembly Government and the Ministry for Rural Affairs generally, and we hope our scientifically-based concerns about the proposals to kill badgers will be taken seriously and that our claim will not need to be pursued.

"Our letter before action carries full references to scientific sources of information, unlike material we are aware of produced in support of a culling policy."

The cull, which would involve trapping badgers in cages and shooting them, is unlikely to happen before April next year.

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