List of farmers signed up for badger cull leaked to activists

Badger Trust says leak could put proposed culling in south Devon in jeopardy

Steven Morris

Tuesday 22 March 2016 12.53 GMT

Last modified on Tuesday 22 March 201616.26 GMT

Police are investigating after a list apparently showing farmers who have signed up for the next phase of the badger cull was leaked to animal rights groups.

One group that advocates direct action, Stop the Cull, has said it intends to publish the list of farmers in south Devon – one of the new areas where culling may take place later this year – once it has verified it.

Another group, the Badger Trust, which represents a range of local badger groups, has handed the list it received to Devon and Cornwall police and suggested the leak could make a cull in the area unviable.

Devon and Cornwall police has confirmed it is investigating. It said: “We are investigating the circumstances surrounding the release of information that has been brought to our attention by the Badger Trust. At this stage it is too early to confirm the full circumstances and we will continue to review the situation.”

On its Facebook page, the Stop the Cull group said it had the list. It added: “We’ve received a list of farmers who have signed up for the Devon badger cull … The source of the information is from within the farming industry, seems the badgers have friends everywhere. When we have confirmed that the information is 100% correct, we’ll publish it.”

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