Judge to rule on badger cull in Northern Ireland
The prospect of badger culling in TB hotspot areas of Northern Ireland is set to be determined by the outcome of a judicial review.
In the next few weeks, a judge sitting at Belfast’s High Court will decide whether a legal challenge by Wild Justice against industry plans for a targeted badger cull is successful or not.
Badger culling is a core recommendation contained within the new disease control strategy endorsed by Northern Ireland’s former agriculture minister, Edwin Poots, earlier this year.
See also: Limited badger cull to tackle bovine TB in Northern Ireland
The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has expressed support for wildlife intervention as part of efforts to tackle bovine TB in the province.
Delivering his New Year message, UFU president David Brown said the disease was arguably the biggest threat to the industry’s ambitions.
“I have lost count of the number of farming families I have met who have seen the future of their businesses thrown into turmoil, and in some cases, decimated by this awful disease ravaging through their herd,” said Mr Brown.
“Words cannot do justice to the impact that the emotional strain caused by bovine TB has had on these individuals, to see their ambitions thwarted and much-loved animals culled because of the disease.”
At the end of October, the NI herd incidence level for TB reached 9.95%, according to official data from the NI Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).
£45m annual cost
In the past year, 16,526 TB-infected cows have been slaughtered in Northern Ireland – a 17.6% increase on the previous year (14,058 TB reactors).
TB testing, compensation and control measures in Northern Ireland cost the public purse £45m this year.
A Daera spokesperson said: “Since the former minister launched the bovine TB eradication strategy in March, officials have been working closely with the TB Eradication Partnership and industry stakeholders to progress the strategy’s actions.
“The wildlife intervention part of the strategy has been the subject of legal challenge, with the outcome of a judicial review expected in the coming weeks.
“The outcome will determine how the implementation of that aspect of the strategy can move forward.”
A model similar to the approach taken in England and funded by farmers to the tune of £1m a year may be required if badger culling is ever to be introduced in NI.