CHESTER ZOO has criticised the Government's decision to lift the fracking ban in England, saying the rationale is "not built on sound logic".

It was confirmed on Thursday, September 22 that England’s fracking ban was lifted as Liz Truss’s Conservative Government vowed to explore all avenues to improve energy security.

The news has set Downing Street on a collision course with environmental campaigners.

Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said the impact of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine means securing domestic energy supplies is vital as he defended lifting the moratorium on fracking, which has been in place since 2019 after a series of tremors caused by the process.

Mr Rees-Mogg suggested limits on acceptable levels of seismic activity are too restrictive and said the Government is determined to “realise any potential sources of domestic gas”.

Fracking is the process of hydraulic fracturing, which uses high-pressure liquid to release gas from shale formations.

The 2019 Conservative manifesto pledged not to lift England’s moratorium unless “the science shows categorically it can be done safely”.

A Government-commissioned report by the British Geological Survey (BGS) was inconclusive, saying more data was needed, but despite the lack of scientific progress, Ms Truss’s administration has torn up the manifesto commitment.

In response, Chester Zoo CEO Jamie Christon has, in a statement published by the zoo, criticised the decision.

He said: "At Chester Zoo we're deeply concerned by the Prime Minister's decision to lift the ban on fracking.

"The Government has consistently stated that its position won't alter unless the science surrounding fracking changes and we see no evidence that the climate science detailing the significant detrimental effects of the practice has altered. This is a U-turn that will have severe consequences for our environment.

"Extracting and burning more fossil fuels will drive further climate change and directly contribute to biodiversity loss both here in the UK and globally. The result will be even more pressure on nature, at a time when the focus should rightly be on accelerating our investment in sustainable energy sources.

"The rationale for lifting the ban is not built on sound logic. It will do little to bring down the wholesale cost of energy, or to alleviate the immediate energy crisis. That's not just our opinion. Other leading environmental organisations who, like us, are working across the world to prevent extinction, are opposed to fracking.

"Even the Government's own UK Committee on Climate Change has rejected the idea of lifting the ban. Indeed, as recently as March this year, the newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer said that it would take up to 10 years to produce sufficient energy supply from fracking and that this would "come at a high cost for communities and our countryside. We agree with the Chancellor. The ban should remain in place.

"As well as feeding into the global biodiversity crisis, the announcement could also damage our efforts to restore nature closer to home here in Chester and across the North West.

"At the same time that our zoo is making use of funding from the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund to create a nature recovery corridor in Cheshire, this U-turn on fracking threatens to put local habitats and UK's most precious wildlife at risk.

"This proven risk to the environment was at the centre of the opposition to fracking, when sites local to our zoo were originally proposed. This strength of opposition to fracking continues to this day and we'll continue to do what we can to support the community in opposing any future plans to commence such disastrous plans in the area."

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said lifting the ban means future applications will be considered “where there is local support”.

Developers will need to have the necessary licences, permissions and consents in place before they can commence operations.

Mr Rees-Mogg said while the Government will “always try to limit disturbance” to those living and working near to fracking sites, “tolerating a higher degree of risk and disturbance appears to us to be in the national interest”.

BEIS said the BGS review “recognised that we have limited current understanding of UK geology and onshore shale resources, and the challenges of modelling geological activity in relatively complex geology sometimes found in UK shale locations”.

The Government argued that limited understanding should not be a barrier to fracking, but instead a reason to drill more wells to gather further data.

A BEIS statement said: “It is clear that we need more sites drilled in order to gather better data and improve the evidence base, and we are aware that some developers are keen to assist with this process.

“Lifting the pause on shale gas extraction will enable drilling to gather this further data, building an understanding of UK shale gas resources and how we can safely carry out shale gas extraction in the UK where there is local support.”

Ms Truss insisted she will not authorise “anything that carries a risk” but “I’m clear that energy security is vital”.

Shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband said: “Fracking is a dangerous fantasy – it would do nothing to cut energy bills, costs more than renewables, and is unsafe.

“The Tories have broken another promise because they are more interested in standing up for the fossil fuel lobby than the British people.”