22 January 2018
Ms E Lawrence
BM 6283
London
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
WC1N 3XX
Dear Ms Lawrence
Access to information – Request No RFI 4131
Thank you for your request for the information detailed below which we received on 04 January
2018. Your request has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Your request has been broken down into the specific information requested and our response has
been provided beneath each one:
1.
When issuing licences for badger culling does Natural England check that the land
and landowners who are applying for badger culling licences are cattle or dairy?
Natural England makes no checks on whether land, for which permission has been granted to
undertake badger control, is used for cattle or dairy. Therefore, EIR Regulation 12(4)(a) –
information not held, applies.
2.
If Natural England does not check that the land and landowners who are applying for
badger culling licences are cattle or dairy, why not?
There is no criteria requiring land, on which badger control may take place, to be used by cattle or
dairy. For further details of the policy and licence criteria, please see the below link to Defra’s
Guidance to Natural Englan
d http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13692-bovinetb-
guidance-ne.pdf. 3.
Does Natural England know how many badger cull licences have been applied for by
pheasant shooting estates?
Natural England does not hold any information regarding applications for badger control licences
that were made by pheasant shooting estates. Therefore, EIR Regulation 12(4)(a) – information
not held, applies.
4.
Please supply the numbers [of badger cull licences that have been applied for by
pheasant shooting estates]. I am not asking for names just numbers.
The requested information is not held. Therefore, EIR Regulation 12(4)(a) – information not held,
applies.
5.
In Gloucester 2 zone is the majority of land used for culling owned or used by cattle
farmers or shooting estates?
The requested information is not held. Therefore, EIR Regulation 12(4)(a) – information not held,
applies.
Please note that the information we have supplied to you is subject to copyright protection under
the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. You may re-use this information (not including logos)
free of charge in any format or medium, for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes,
private study, criticism, review and news reporting. You must re-use it accurately and not in a
misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Natural England copyright and you
must give the title of the source document/publication. However, if you wish to re-use all or part of
this information for commercial purposes, including publishing and the information is not covered
by the
Open Government Licence you will need to apply for a licence. Applications can be sent to
Enquiry Service, Natural England, County Hall, Spetchley Road, WORCESTER, WR5 2NP.
This information may also contain third party copyrighted material and you will need to obtain
permission from the copyright holders concerned before you re-use it.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact the Bovine TB Licensing Unit by emailing
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. As you may be aware, under the legislation should you have any
concerns with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a
complaint or request a review of our decision, please contact the Bovine TB Licensing Unit, Natural
England, BM 6283, London, WC1N 3XX. Email:
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx. Under Regulation
11(2) this needs to be done no later than 40 working days after the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of that complaint or the internal review, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make
a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by Natural England.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113,
www.ico.org.uk. Yours sincerely
Bovine TB Licensing Unit