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UK Government considering badger cull in new areas
30 August 2019
Badger | WWT
The government is due to announce a new round of badger culls in England and is considering new cull areas where they have been paying for successful badger vaccination programmes.
The government’s advisor, Natural England, is said to have received 14 applications from prospective culling companies to cull badgers in ‘high risk’ (of bovine tuberculosis - bTB) and ‘edge area’ counties of England. It can approve 10 of these areas. This would increase the number of cull zones stretching from Cornwall to Cumbria to over 40.
Derbyshire is one of the 14 new areas being considered. Over the last five years, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has been running the UK’s largest badger vaccination programme with over 100 volunteers to help stop the spread of bTB in the badger population as an alternative to culling. They have been demonstrating that there is a humane way to tackle bTB that is cheaper per badger than culling. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has had £280,000 worth of government funding from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) towards this work – yet the government is still considering applications to bring the cull to Derbyshire.
Ellie Brodie, Senior Policy Manager, The Wildlife Trusts says: “It is unacceptable that the government is planning to forge ahead with another year of ineffective and expensive badger culling. It is absurd that the government are paying to protect badgers through vaccinating them, while also considering applications to kill them, as they are in Derbyshire. The badger cull is a dangerous distraction from addressing the main route of bTB transmission in cattle which is between cattle – as the findings from their own independent review has confirmed.”
Tim Birch, Head of Living Landscapes, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust says: “Despite our Trust’s successful vaccination programme, Defra has listed the county for the cull expansion this year. That means the badger cull could come here as early as September. We’re deeply concerned that this could result in the deaths of thousands of healthy badgers including ones that have been vaccinated – it would cause significant disruption to our ongoing badger vaccination programme. Our dedicated team will continue vaccinations despite the potential arrival of a cull to look after this iconic and protected British species.”
Work being done in the south west by Wildlife Trusts shows that farmers in high risk areas for bTB have a real interest in badger vaccination, with groups of farms involved in successful vaccination across their land. Vaccination needs to be available and affordable to farmers not only in ‘edge areas’ but everywhere.
In mid-Cornwall a group of farmers approached Cornwall Wildlife Trust to find out more about vaccination of badgers and now pay for vaccination across a 20km squared area. Over a 4 year period the Trust expects tuberculosis levels in the badger population to fall as any diseased badgers die-off and are replaced by vaccinated animals; it is hoped that there will be a knock-on reduction in bTB.
bTB can have a devastating impact on the lives of farmers. The Wildlife Trusts continue to work with farmers to find solutions that work for everyone. Badger vaccination is cost-effective and it works. It reduces the incidence, severity and long-term vulnerability of badger groups to the disease. If government strategy must focus on badgers, this approach offers a far more effective, cheaper and low-risk way to reduce bTB in badger populations.
The government has promised to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation. Continuing and expanding the badger cull runs counter to this promise and risks pushing one of our protected native species to the verge of local extinction.
The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the government to do the following:
For more information about badgers and to support the badgers visit > WWT website.
WIN - enter our new photography competition for UK wildlife here
The government’s advisor, Natural England, is said to have received 14 applications from prospective culling companies to cull badgers in ‘high risk’ (of bovine tuberculosis - bTB) and ‘edge area’ counties of England. It can approve 10 of these areas. This would increase the number of cull zones stretching from Cornwall to Cumbria to over 40.
Derbyshire is one of the 14 new areas being considered. Over the last five years, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has been running the UK’s largest badger vaccination programme with over 100 volunteers to help stop the spread of bTB in the badger population as an alternative to culling. They have been demonstrating that there is a humane way to tackle bTB that is cheaper per badger than culling. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has had £280,000 worth of government funding from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) towards this work – yet the government is still considering applications to bring the cull to Derbyshire.
Ellie Brodie, Senior Policy Manager, The Wildlife Trusts says: “It is unacceptable that the government is planning to forge ahead with another year of ineffective and expensive badger culling. It is absurd that the government are paying to protect badgers through vaccinating them, while also considering applications to kill them, as they are in Derbyshire. The badger cull is a dangerous distraction from addressing the main route of bTB transmission in cattle which is between cattle – as the findings from their own independent review has confirmed.”
Tim Birch, Head of Living Landscapes, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust says: “Despite our Trust’s successful vaccination programme, Defra has listed the county for the cull expansion this year. That means the badger cull could come here as early as September. We’re deeply concerned that this could result in the deaths of thousands of healthy badgers including ones that have been vaccinated – it would cause significant disruption to our ongoing badger vaccination programme. Our dedicated team will continue vaccinations despite the potential arrival of a cull to look after this iconic and protected British species.”
Work being done in the south west by Wildlife Trusts shows that farmers in high risk areas for bTB have a real interest in badger vaccination, with groups of farms involved in successful vaccination across their land. Vaccination needs to be available and affordable to farmers not only in ‘edge areas’ but everywhere.
In mid-Cornwall a group of farmers approached Cornwall Wildlife Trust to find out more about vaccination of badgers and now pay for vaccination across a 20km squared area. Over a 4 year period the Trust expects tuberculosis levels in the badger population to fall as any diseased badgers die-off and are replaced by vaccinated animals; it is hoped that there will be a knock-on reduction in bTB.
bTB can have a devastating impact on the lives of farmers. The Wildlife Trusts continue to work with farmers to find solutions that work for everyone. Badger vaccination is cost-effective and it works. It reduces the incidence, severity and long-term vulnerability of badger groups to the disease. If government strategy must focus on badgers, this approach offers a far more effective, cheaper and low-risk way to reduce bTB in badger populations.
The government has promised to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation. Continuing and expanding the badger cull runs counter to this promise and risks pushing one of our protected native species to the verge of local extinction.
The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the government to do the following:
- Halt the badger cull now.
- Invest in and promote a strategy for badger vaccination. This should be led and funded by the government, across England.
- Invest more time and resource in further research into farm biosecurity and movement controls. We need to know what works.
- Accelerate development of more effective tests for bTB in cattle and put serious investment into a bTB cattle vaccine. This is a cattle problem, not a wildlife problem.
For more information about badgers and to support the badgers visit > WWT website.
WIN - enter our new photography competition for UK wildlife here
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