Farmers accuse environment secretary of unlawful badger cull intervention

Badgers in England and Wales are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. 

But since a cull pilot began in 2013, 300,000 badgers have been killed across 43 areas in England as part of a government initiative to reduce the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle, according to the Wildlife Trust. 

In September, the environment secretary intervened in the permit process, blocking a proposed badger cull in Derbyshire – the first intervention of its kind. A four-year vaccination trial is in place in the county, which the environment secretary argued should be continued instead of culling.