Natural England raises stakes on badger cull challenge

Natural England is seeking to increase the potential financial costs for Wild Justice and the Badger Trust as they mount a legal challenge against the government’s decision to issue supplementary badger culling licences in England.

The culling licences are set to run from 1 June 2024 to 1 July 2025 in 24 areas that are in their first, second, or fifth years of culling.

Wild Justice and the Badger Trust argue that Natural England (NE) is attempting to make it financially more difficult for them to pursue legal action by increasing the adverse cost cap.

See also: Labour drops plans for ‘targeted’ culling of badgers

Under the Aarhus Convention, the usual cost cap that protects smaller groups in public interest cases is £10,000.

However, NE is reportedly seeking to raise this cap to £30,000 for the Badger Trust and £20,000 for Wild Justice if they lose the case.

The Badger Trust chief executive Peter Hambly claims that NE’s move is an effort to “intimidate” the charities into dropping the legal challenge. 

Historically, the Badger Trust – alongside other wildlife conservation groups – has initiated several legal challenges against the government’s badger cull, though none have been successful.

These challenges have incurred significant costs for Defra and NE, both of which are funded by taxpayer money.

In response, an NE spokesman stated that it could not comment on ongoing legal matters, but assured that it fully supports the principles of the Aarhus Convention and carefully considers all relevant factors when making decisions about issuing badger culling licences.

The Labour government recently announced that badger culling may continue through the current parliamentary term, which could extend to 2029, with a goal to transition from culling to vaccination during this period.