Is this the landmark legal decision that many fishery owners have been wishing for or a retrograde step in what, to my mind, has been an ill-conceived ecological experiment?
Can fisheries shoot otters legally? - Angler's Mail
Either way it will be a seriously contentious issue for some time to come.
This extract says a lot:
“The judge, Mr Justice Ousley overturned their decision and criticised Natural England making it clear that public opinion should not be taken into consideration in the application of the law, and added that it had been made according to an undisclosed policy which went beyond NE and DEFRA’s powers in law."
and:
“The ramifications of this decision for fisheries are great in that the law applies to fishery protection in exactly the same way as it does to protect gamekeepers. If financial loss is suffered and there are no other alternatives, fisheries have the full weight of the law on their side to protect their stock from financial loss,”
So, are the gloves coming off or will there be objections and appeals?
Can fisheries shoot otters legally? - Angler's Mail
Either way it will be a seriously contentious issue for some time to come.
This extract says a lot:
“The judge, Mr Justice Ousley overturned their decision and criticised Natural England making it clear that public opinion should not be taken into consideration in the application of the law, and added that it had been made according to an undisclosed policy which went beyond NE and DEFRA’s powers in law."
and:
“The ramifications of this decision for fisheries are great in that the law applies to fishery protection in exactly the same way as it does to protect gamekeepers. If financial loss is suffered and there are no other alternatives, fisheries have the full weight of the law on their side to protect their stock from financial loss,”
So, are the gloves coming off or will there be objections and appeals?