The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has been granted an injunction to restrict activists protesting against the badger cull from coming any nearer than 100m of the homes or 25m of the businesses of anyone involved in the cull. However, lawful protest against it will still be allowed.
The injunction was finally granted last night (August 22) after hours of wrangling between protesters and the union over its wording, but even when it was granted, protesters said that it would make “absolutely no difference whatsoever”.
A representative of the Coalition of Badger Action Groups said that the ruling would not stop protests and that the groups he represents like to think of themselves as being “very, very annoying” to farmers.
However, President of the NFU, Peter Kendall, said that farmers had been intimidated and harassed, which is why the injunction was needed but that farmers had no issue with lawful protests.
Mr Kendall added that for beef and dairy farmers dealing with TB on their farms, badger culls are an essential part of the fight against the disease, but also accepted that opinion is divided on the matter.
He said that the NFU recognises that not everyone agrees with the Government’s TB eradication policy and the need to cull badgers to start to reduce the disease in cattle, so does acknowledge the campaigners’ legitimate right to hold peaceful protests.
However, he said that what the union cannot condone are the actions being used by extreme activists, which are designed to harass, intimidate and threaten others.
Culls will be held over a six-week period and will start soon in the West Somerset and West Gloucestershire pilot zones, during which time more than 5,000 badgers could be shot.