Gloucestershire: Police Questioned Over Badger Cull

8 May 2014, 15:26

Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner is going to question senior police officers about their handling of the pilot badger cull in the county.

Although the special scrutiny meeting will not be directly open to the public, it is being held in the council chamber at Stroud District Council and is being streamed live on-line via a web link.

It will be take place on Monday May 12th starting at 6 pm and will involve the Chief Constable Suzette Davenport and other senior officers who had key roles in Operation Themis, the code name given to their strategy for policing the cull. 

''Now that the dust has settled and the Police are preparing for the next phase of the cull, I think the time is right to raise some of the issues arising from last year's cull'', said Mr.Surl. 

''Having spoken to all sides, before, during and after the event, it is clear they believe the police have questions to answer. My own view is that very few people - pro-cull lobbyists, campaigners, activists and sympathisers on either side of the argument rarely understood the role of the police and we also need to get to the bottom of that before phase two of the cull begins later in the year. 

''One of the important aspects of my job is to hold the police to account. My aim is to be as open and transparent as possible and this is the best way of achieving that''.