AN INFORMATIVE UPDATE FROM WILD JUSTICE — NOT ALL GOOD NEWS AS THERE ARE DELAYS

Good morning! Today we bring a few updates, including some good news for Wild Justice, some legal challenge updates, and two campaigns you might like to support. Good news – Co-Director Ruth Tingay named among top Changemakers of 2026 Each year, Big Issue magazine compiles a list of 100 people and organisations driving change in their communities. The Changemakers are voted for by Big Issue readers and this year, Wild Justice's co-director Dr Ruth Tingay has been recognised in the Environment and Climate category — both for her work with Wild Justice and for her award-winning Raptor Persecution UK blog. Congratulations, Ruth! More good news – we finally have a new date for our postponed Badger legal challenge Our long-awaited legal challenge against Natural England's supplementary Badger cull licences has faced two delays: once last summer, and again in December 2025. We're pleased to say we now have a confirmed date for the substantive hearing - 16 June 2026 - nearly two years after we first launched the case! It's been a long road but we're ready to see it through, alongside our co-challengers at the Badger Trust. Dartmoor – still waiting for news… On the subject of waiting, we're also yet to receive a judgement in our legal challenge against overgrazing on protected areas of Dartmoor, which was heard in court in July 2025. Eight months on, we’re still waiting — but we'll update you the moment we hear anything. Shooting industry challenges gamebird releases near Special Protections Areas Last year BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation) applied to the High Court for permission to challenge Natural England in relation to the release of non-native gamebirds (Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges) on or near Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in England. This is a subject Wild Justice has campaigned on quite extensively; indeed, it was our earlier work that led to new restrictions on gamebird releases on and near to SPAs, and our recent work has shown that in some locations, unsurprisingly, the new regulations are being ignored. We applied to the High Court for permission to either intervene in the case, or be given Interested Party status, but last week the court refused our application. We considered appealing this decision but have made a strategic decision against it and will instead look for opportunities to support Natural England with its defence. A substantive hearing is expected to take place later this year. Help a community group buy some common greenspace: Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons are areas of protected greenspace, close to Tunbridge Wells. Together they cover over 300 acres, providing a substantial green corridor running through and around the town. They are treasured and valued areas of greenspace, used by local communities for leisure and exercise on a daily basis. The commons are SSSI-designated primarily for their lowland heathland habitat, being home to active Badger setts, multiple bat species, reptiles (including Slow Worms, Adders, Grass Snakes and Common Lizards), 18 species of nationally scarce or rare hymenoptera (bees and wasps), and rare plants such as Coralroot and Royal Ferry. Recently The Guardian newspaper covered a bid by the Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons to purchase the Commons – see here - which are now up for sale. This is a unique opportunity for a local community group to take on management of a nature-rich space and to protect it longer term from development. The Friends of the Commons are exploring this possibility and are asking supporters to pledge to support a future bid to purchase the Commons, and to do this before 26 March. If you’d like to do so, you can pledge via their website – click here. Please note – The Friends of the Commons are not asking for a donation at this stage, just an indication (pledge) that you would be willing to consider making a donation at a later stage. A petition for you to sign to help birds of prey Friends of the Dales (a registered charity based in the Yorkshire Dales) is asking the government for important law reform to stop the criminal killing of birds of prey. Many of you will be aware that the Yorkshire Dales is a national hotspot for illegal raptor persecution, particularly on the privately-owned grouse moors within the National Park. Friends of the Dales is calling for the introduction of sentencing guidelines and the strengthening of penalties for offenders, the establishment of a National Wildlife Crime Database, and more effective regulation for those industries committing these wildlife crimes. We agree that all of these proposals would be beneficial, and so we’re asking you to consider signing the petition. You can do so by clicking here. That’s it for now, we’ll be in touch with a further update very soon. Thank you, Wild Justice (CEO: Bob Elliot. Directors: Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). This is the 262nd Wild Justice newsletter. This email was sent to you because you subscribed to it through the Wild Justice website or through an e-action or a petition where you ticked a box. Thank you. We will only use your personal details to send you the Wild Justice newsletter. We will not give or sell your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time: there is an unsubscribe button at the foot of this email or you can reply to this email and ask us to remove you from the list (the former will happen immediately, the latter might take a few days). 124, City Road London Greater London EC1V 2NX UNITED KINGDOM Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options