High Court to hear legal challenge over badger cull

A legal challenge against the Conservative government’s 2024 decision to grant supplementary badger culling licences will proceed to the High Court.

Wildlife groups The Badger Trust and Wild Justice argue that the move was unlawful and driven by political motives rather than scientific evidence.

In May 2024, Natural England issued 26 supplementary badger culling licences for the period 1 June to 30 November.

The groups claim these licences were approved against the advice of Natural England’s scientific experts and were solely to maintain the confidence of the farming community.

See also: Badger cull to continue pending bovine TB strategy review

In contrast, farming organisations including the NFU support badger culling as part of a science-led strategy to control bovine tuberculosis (TB).

The NFU cites peer-reviewed evidence of reduced infection rates in cattle following badger culling.

For instance, research published in Scientific Reports showed a 66% reduction in new TB breakdowns in cattle in Gloucestershire and a 37% reduction in Somerset following badger culling.

NFU warning

The NFU has consistently warned that vaccination alone is insufficient and has called for a balanced approach to tackling bovine TB.

Suggested measure include testing, movement controls, and full funding for vaccination and culling to protect farmers’ livelihoods.

Applications for the culls were submitted in February 2024.

By April, Natural England’s director of science concluded that following four years of intensive culling, there was “no justification” for further killings and badger vaccination could be a viable alternative.

Despite this, Defra officials warned that refusing the licences could damage their relationship with farmers and undermine wider disease control efforts.

Natural England ultimately issued the licences in May 2024, a decision that prompted the legal challenge.

A High Court judge has now granted permission for the case to proceed on all grounds.

The claim alleges that Natural England misused its statutory powers by approving the cull to maintain farmers’ confidence, rather than prevent the spread of disease.

It also argues that irrelevant factors – such as Defra’s concerns over relations with farmers and Natural England’s staff morale – were wrongly considered, and that no rational explanation was provided for overruling the scientific advice.

Labour’s stance

The Labour government plans to phase out badger culling by 2029, calling it “ineffective”.

But in February Defra secretary Steve Reed announced it will honour existing cull licences until 2026, warning that an immediate halt to culling could cause “shocks into the system”.

The High Court hearing is expected later this year.

Bovine TB cases in England have declined since 2009, when 58,894 cattle were culled. In 2024, 21,586 were slaughtered – despite a recent uptick, long-term progress shows disease control efforts are working.

Natural England told Farmers Weekly it was unable to discuss ongoing legal matters.