March 2021 – NI General LicencesWild Justice sends a letter to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA) threatening to take legal action with as many words if the current general licenses are renewed unchanged in September of the same year. DAERA initiated and withdrew a consultation proposing to remove several species from NI General Licences. In October, DAERA stood firm and extended the unchanged general licences in Northern Ireland for a further year. This summer has seen unprecedented levels of highly pathogenic bird flu in wild birds in the UK (and elsewhere). In […] As well as the failure of Wild Justice`s recent appeal attempt, the organisations that have worked to defend the challenges raised by Wild Justice – namely the Moorland Association (MA), the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the Countryside Alliance (CA) and the National Gamekeepers` Organisation (NGO) – have now officially been awarded £1,100 in legal fees awarded to them by the court. when Wild Justice`s initial challenge was dismissed last year. The money went to the Wildlife Keeper Welfare Fund. Today, the Right Honourable Lord Justice Males rejected his recent legal challenge, stating that an appeal « would have no real chance of success ». This is something Wild Justice should have known by now, as two lawyers had already rejected their attempts to challenge Defra`s burning rules. Last week, at this time, we were approached by Humane Society International – UK and offered our support for our challenge […] The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) described the Wild Justice case as « baseless » and the significant legal costs were « a wake-up call for the group ». Wild Justice activists are threatening Ofwat with legal action for failing to ensure that wastewater treatment plants are fit for purpose. Our electronic campaign, Uplands for People, for the Climate and for Wildlife, was launched on Saturday. The number of titles according to […] We sent the following letter to the Defra legal team yesterday.
As you can see, they are either in some […] Good news! This morning, we learned from our legal team that the Honourable Justice Griffiths has given us permission. Wild Justice intends to appeal after its request for a legal challenge to its failure to prevent untreated sewage in rivers was denied. Since our public launch on February 13, 2019, we have learned that public bodies almost always try to […] WJ says they have been talking to DAERA since spring 2019 about what they called « the scientific and legal loopholes in their licenses. » July 2021 – Heather BurningWild Justice raises another legal challenge, this time against DEFRA`s newly enacted rules for burning heather and grass on bogs in England, claiming they are « illegal and unenforceable ». The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the National Gamekeepers` Organisation (NGO), the Countryside Alliance (CA) and the Moorland Association have all successfully applied to join the procedure as interested parties and have been able to provide evidence detailing the many benefits of grouse management for wildlife, marginalized communities, the rural economy and the wider mountain landscape. The High Court denied Wild Justice leave to carry out a judicial review, dismissed it and ordered it to pay DEFRA`s costs up to £8,900 and the interested parties £1,100. Those interested donated their expenses to the Gamekeepers Welfare Trust, a charity dear to the hearts of its members. Looking ahead, Wild Justice believes they have a strong argument: « We have warned DAERA that they will face a legal challenge if they proceed with faulty licenses. We will pursue this matter very vigorously. Wild Justice is a member of Wildlife & Countryside LINK, England`s largest environmental and wildlife coalition, […] Leigh Day press release: Lawsuit of wildlife groups challenges Northern Irish dachshund by shooting […] Wildlife & Countryside LINK, a coalition of 67 wildlife organizations, including Wild Justice, today celebrated its 6th anniversary. Annual report […] Following the launch of a new fund last week to investigate police investigations into illegal prosecutions […] Here is another paragraph from Wild Justice`s testimony that supports our legal challenge; The breadth of Wildvogel`s publications is […] October 2021 – Launch of the legal challenge to NI General LicencesOn October 29, a blog on the Wild Justice website announced that it was filing a complaint against Northern Ireland`s general licences. Unsurprisingly, the heart of the blog was another plea for money – this time they are seeking the princely sum of £45,000 so they can take this case to court.
The saddest thing about all this is that the incredible amount of money and time wasted on these unsuccessful lawsuits could have been spent on actual preservation! Luckily for them, the gamekeepers quietly do it in the background, probably much more effectively than this group could ever do. All wild birds in Northern Ireland are protected under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. However, the NIEA can currently issue licences for bird control for certain reasons. Over the past month, we have been preparing for a potential challenge to a roof removal project in Northern Ireland. […] In April, we announced a new fund to help police fight wildlife crime. This Raptor Forensics Fund will help […] January 2021 – Welsh General LicencesWild Justice launches another legal challenge, this time against Welsh General Licences. Natural Resources Wales had already committed to reviewing its licences. The High Court ruled that Natural Resources Wales` (NRW) general licences to control wild birds were legal and could continue to be used.
Wild Justice was ordered to pay £10,000 to NRW. Again, this money comes straight out of the pockets of their supporters. As the Countryside Alliance quoted: « Unfortunately, this is only a fraction of what it will cost to successfully challenge the legal challenge to savage justice; Money that could have been spent much better at a time of unprecedented national hardship, when the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the lives and livelihoods of so many. But Covid-19 didn`t stop Wild Justice from launching its lawsuit against NRW, nor from appealing to raise the £42,500 it needed to launch its protest. Wild Justice had challenged the legality of three general North Rhine-Westphalia permits – GL001, GL002 and GL004 – which allow farmers to shoot certain bird species to avoid damaging their crops and livestock. The anti-shooting lobby, founded by the BBC`s Chris Packham, former RSPB conservation director Mark Avery and blogger Ruth Tingay, had to pay legal costs to Natural Resources Wales (NRW). October 2021 – Appeal against the result of the heather fireWild Justice recently appealed the judge`s decision in the aforementioned heather incineration case. Essentially, they disagree with the judge`s decision and have another crack. On Wild Justice`s website, their notice of appeal included the following statement regarding their appeal against the fees imposed on them to pay interested parties: « We oppose it because we believe that the interested parties (BASC, Countryside Alliance, National Gamekeepers` Organisation and the Moorland Association) 1) have added nothing to the legal argument, 2) want to give the money anyway and 3) we would much prefer the taxpayer to be compensated if we lose.
Basically, interested parties have intervened and are now in the process of recovering part of DEFRA`s cost claim (in our view). In other words, they refuse to allow the money to be given to charity and would prefer to return it to the public. It`s a strange concern because they didn`t care much about the tens of thousands of pounds taken from public funds for the final three rounds of the trial. Yesterday, the Westminster Government announced its intention to crack down on cruel and illegal hare hunting. Wild Justice welcomes this […] Wild Justice filed a lawsuit for DEFRA to examine the harmful effects of wild birds, which was completed last October when DEFRA agreed […] Thanks to the legal challenges of wild justice and our subsequent lobbying and that of others, general licenses […] Wild Justice`s first court case was a challenge to the GL04, GL05 and GL06 general licenses, which […] Our recent petition calling on the government to limit Woodcock`s filming season has grown over time […] Wild Justice denounces new rules on peatland burning A legal challenge to the new rules for […] This morning, Wild Justice launched a new appeal for donations.