Defra asks court to dismiss Wild Justice judicial review

It must come as a blow to the Wild Justice triumvirate of Chris Packham, Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay, as Defra has asked the court to dismiss their judicial review into the release of gamebirds, calling the case 'vexatious and pointless'. What's more, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has gone a step further in asking the courts to award costs against Wild Justice, and accused Wild Justice of "shooting at the wrong target" - a spectacular use of languange.
 
The move is Defra’s response to an attempt by Wild Justice to significantly amend their judicial review to ensure that the 2021 release of game birds and the review currently being undertaken by Defra on gamebird releasing is not carried out unlawfully. 
 
A spokesperson for BASC, Countryside Alliance, the Game Farmers’ Association and the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, all registered as interested parties in the case, said:

“We welcome the fact that the Government has taken such a strong line in resisting this wholesale change of approach from Wild Justice. This judicial review is clearly misdirected in terms of the law and serves no purpose. Resources and expertise should be going towards reviewing gamebird releases, not unnecessary and pointless court cases.
 
“Wild Justice’s application to amend the grounds of their judicial review is an admission that their claim was misconceived. As interested parties we ask that Wild Justice do the right thing and drop the case now and await the outcome of Defra’s review.”

At the time of writing neither Wild Justice, nor any of its 'celebrity' figureheads, has commented on Defra's call for the dismissal of the case, and it remains to be seen how the courts will respond, but this is a positive sign that Wild Justice's attempt to challenge the legality of game bird releasing is going nowhere fast.

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