PROTECT THE WILD. DUE PROCESS IN WALES FOR THE BADGER CULL OR NOT

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Next steps have been announced in the fight to stop the Wales badger cull ELIZA EGRET NOV 13 READ IN APP Yesterday, Protect the Wild joined Dyfi Badger Group at the Senedd to hand in a petition signed by almost 29,000 of you, demanding no badger cull in Wales. Shortly after the handover, the Senedd Petitions Committee met to decide whether to recommend a full parliamentary debate on badger culling. The petition not only demanded no cull, but also a full public consultation, and the petitioners hoped to trigger a debate before minister Llyr Gruffydd makes his announcement on the Government’s culling policy. Welsh Labour MS Vikki Howells recommended to the other Committee members that a debate should go ahead. She pointed out that a previous pro-cull debate in the Senedd had not been presented with accurate scientific evidence. Chair of Petitions Committee, Reform’s Jason O'Connell, was (surprisingly!) another fair voice in the room. He also called for a debate, but the biggest push-back came from the Tories’ Janet Finch-Saunders. Welsh Labour MS Vikki Howells, Dyfi Badger Group’s Sarah Reisz and Barry Wise, and Reform UK’s Jason O’Connell The Committee ultimately decided that due to time constraints, it would await Gruffydd’s announcement on badger culling, which is expected to come within the next couple of weeks. This is disappointing, because we wanted to ensure that Gruffydd would make a decision based on accurate scientific evidence, rather than farming lobby influence and inaccurate statistics. The Committee did state that it had never seen such an effective petition campaign, and commended the huge number of signatures. It also stated that it would draw the minister’s attention to the petition. It concluded that it would recommend a government debate once Gruffydd makes his announcement. Both Protect the Wild and Dyfi Badger Group are dissatisfied with this result. Dyfi Badger Group stated: “We welcome the Petition Committee's decision to request a full plenary Senedd debate in the Senedd as soon as possible. We also welcome their commitment to bring the petition to the Minister's attention immediately. However, we would request that, crucially, the Committee should not wait until after his announcement of his decision before they urgently request clarification from the Minister of the evidence base on which he has made his decision. We need full transparency around what current evidence or sources of advice he has relied on to make his decision and how he has ensured that those sources are truly independent.” Show Quoted Content “We welcome the Petition Committee's decision to request a full plenary Senedd debate in the Senedd as soon as possible. We also welcome their commitment to bring the petition to the Minister's attention immediately. However, we would request that, crucially, the Committee should not wait until after his announcement of his decision before they urgently request clarification from the Minister of the evidence base on which he has made his decision. We need full transparency around what current evidence or sources of advice he has relied on to make his decision and how he has ensured that those sources are truly independent.” And so the fight to save Wales’ badgers continues. Keep following Protect the Wild as we announce the next steps in the campaign, working alongside Dyfi Badger Group, the Badger Trust and others to try to save Cymru’s badgers. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start your Substack