8 Nov 2022
Campaigners say the total number of badgers killed in the effort to combat bTB is likely to exceed 200,000 this year, but Defra is not backing down.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Artist Rachel Shiamh created this representation of the badger in sand on the Devon coast in a bid to raise awareness of the toll taken by the cull. Image © Badger Trust
The “local extinction” of badgers in parts of England is now a reality because of the controversial culling policy intended to combat bTB, campaigners have claimed.
The Badger Trust has accused Defra of turning the country into a “killing field” after it emerged that more than 67,000 of the mammals could be slaughtered this year alone.
Refusing to be drawn on the concerns, the department maintains that its policy is reducing levels of the disease despite a continuing scientific dispute over its effectiveness.
But with intensive cull licences being granted in 11 new areas for the first time, critics said the total number of badgers culled since the policy began in 2013 is now expected to exceed 200,000 this year.
The trust’s executive director, Peter Hambly, claimed the Government was intent on “wiping out” badgers altogether.
He said: “The local extinction of badgers is happening right here, right now. We already know parts of the south-west are empty of badgers.
“England is a killing field for badgers and people need to act now to stop the unpopular cull before we lose this amazing creature forever.”
The trust’s latest intervention follows the eventual release of licence details for the latest round of intense culling activity.
Eleven new areas – in Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Devon, Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Warwickshire – have seen intensive cull licences granted for the first time, alongside nearly 60 other zones where cull activity is taking place.
Overall, the licences allow for a minimum of 23,652 badgers to be culled this year, with five zones where there are no minimum numbers set.
The maximum figures add up to 67,801, including one zone in Shropshire where up to 4,766 badgers could be culled alone.
A Defra spokesperson said: “Bovine TB is one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges that the livestock sector in England faces today, causing considerable trauma for farmers and costing taxpayers over £100 million every year.
“Our bovine TB eradication strategy has led to a significant reduction in this insidious disease. As a result of the progress made, we have issued new badger control licences for the last time.
“We are now moving on to the next phase of the long-term eradication strategy, including steps to expand badger vaccination alongside improved cattle testing and a possible cattle vaccine.”
Hundreds of badgers have already been vaccinated against bTB in a Defra-funded pilot project in Sussex.
But Mr Hambly claimed the Government was intent on “wiping out” badgers altogether.
He added: “We can’t afford to lose any more real badgers and that’s why we urge people to join the campaign to stop the cull.”
