FROM WILD JUSTICE — THE CONSULTATION ON TRAIL HUNTING ENDS VERY SOON

Good morning, Today’s newsletter includes an update on our judicial review on Natural England’s decision to licence supplementary Badger culls in 2024, an update on a development threatening the largest colony of Great Crested Newts in London and Wild Justice featuring on Radio 4. We’d also like to remind you that the consultation on banning trail hunting closes tomorrow – details below. Please do respond, if you haven’t already. Holding Natural England accountable – the Badger cull licence judicial review: Yesterday we attended the Royal Courts of Justice in London for the conclusion of our judicial review which we started back in 2024 with our friends the Badger Trust. We argued that Natural England acted unlawfully by approving 26 supplementary licences to cull Badgers despite advice from its own Director of Science, who concluded that there was “...no justification for authorising further supplementary Badger culls in 2024 for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease and recommend[ed] against doing so”. You can read more about the background of Badger culling, and our stance on it, on our website here. Mr Justice Fordham presided over our case yesterday, and has reserved judgement, which we’ll hear in due course. As soon as we do, we’ll share that with you. We would like to thank our brilliant legal team who helped get this case to court. Thank you Ricky Gama, Carol Day, Julia Eriksen and Madeeha Akhtar at Leigh Day, David Wolfe KC at Matrix Chambers and Barney McCay at Landmark Chambers. We’re extremely fortunate to have such exceptional and committed environmental lawyers representing our cases and helping us challenge these injustices. Thank you so much to all of you who supported our crowdfunder on this case, which allowed us to take this right through to a court hearing. It’s been nearly two years since this case began. Since then, the political landscape has changed but the risk to Badgers has not, and so it’s important that political decisions continue to be scrutinised. Hurry! The clock is ticking on the consultation on so-called trail hunting: The government consultation on how best to implement a trail hunting ban in England and Wales comes to a close on Thursday at 11.59PM on 18 June. If you haven’t managed to respond yet, we’d be really grateful if you could. The League Against Cruel Sports has produced some helpful guidance, which can help guide you through the whole process. You can find it by clicking here. If you’ve already responded – thank you! Trail hunting was introduced as a supposed legal alternative to Fox hunting after Fox hunting was banned in 2004 under the Hunting Act. In trail hunting, hounds are meant to follow an artificial scent trail which has been laid by a human, rather than pursuing a live animal. However, many animal welfare organisations, including the Hunt Saboteurs Association and others, have gathered substantial evidence showing that for years trail hunting has been used by many as a smokescreen to illegally hunt Foxes. This consultation is an opportunity to strengthen legislation around Hunting and put a stop to these wildlife crimes. Save our Newts campaign update: Last month we asked you to support the ‘Save the Newts’ campaign to protect London’s largest breeding colony of Great Crested Newts at Glebelands Nature Reserve which was under threat from development. If you managed to sign the petition before the deadline, thank you. The application was considered by the Mayor of London on 27 May. Despite strong public support from local residents, conservation organisations and supporters, and a petition of over 7,000 signatures, the Greater London Authority chose to approve the Great North Leisure Park development. This case is a stark example of the weakening of wildlife protection legislation and has wider implications for nature conservation in the UK. The new Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 means that real habitat protection can be replaced with a ‘cash-to-trash’ levy for developers., With housing pressures rising, putting important habitats and species of high conservation concern at greater risk, the approval of this development sets a dangerous precedent. Online Talk: Talking Raptor Persecution with Dr Ruth Tingay: In a talk given to Yorkshire-based charity, Friends of the Dales, Wild Justice Co-Director Ruth Tingay gave an insight into raptor persecution and the impact that these crimes have had on Scottish legislation The Friends of the Dales is an independent campaign charity dedicated to protecting the landscape, biodiversity and cultural heritage of the Yorkshire Dales. In recent years it’s focused much of its efforts on challenging issues that face the area, including shining a light on raptor persecution with their ‘Eyes on the Skies’ campaign to raise awareness about birds of prey and their persecution and to seek change from government to put a stop to these crimes. The group is running a petition to help stop the criminal killing of Birds of Prey, which you can sign here. You can watch Ruth’s talk, ‘How Illegal Raptor Persecution led to Grouse Moor Licensing in Scotland’, by following this link. Wild Justice on Radio 4: And last but not least, this morning Wild Justice Co-Director Chris Packham was featured on BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, talking about the impact Pheasant shooting has on wildlife and the environment. Listen to it, at about 4 minutes and 15 seconds in, here. As ever, thank you for all your support! Wild Justice (CEO: Bob Elliot. Directors: Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). This is the 269th 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. 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