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Note: Conclusions from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial were published at the end of 2005. DEFRA has since carried out a consultation on proposals for large-scale culling of badgers in parts of England, and a decision is currently (May 2006) awaited. The information on this page needs to be updated and this will happen soon. For more information, see the Badger Trust website.

Introduction

In the UK, badgers in certain areas are being culled by the Government , in an attempt to reduce the levels of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. In fact, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and its predecessor the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) have been culling badgers for this reason for more than thirty years. On this page, I will attempt to answer some frequently asked questions about the cull and its impact on badgers.

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How many badgers have been killed so far?

It is estimated that around 30,000 badgers have been killed to date.

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How are the badgers killed?

When MAFF (Now DEFRA) first started to kill badgers as a means of controlling TB in 1975, the animals were gassed in their setts, using a powder which produced hydrogen cyanide gas. This was believed to be a humane method of killing them. Between August 1975 and June 1982, over 4,000 badger setts were gassed, and it is believed that about 10,000 badgers were killed. However, research was then carried out which showed that the gas was not reaching the concentrations needed to bring about a quick death in badger setts. Gassing was therefore stopped. From August 1982, badgers have been cage-trapped and then shot. A few have been caught in snares, but not during the current culling experiment.

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Has badger culling reduced TB in cattle?

Although many thousands of badgers have been killed over period of more than 30 years, the incidence of TB in cattle has not decreased. Indeed, over recent years the number of cases has increased. Killing badgers does not therefore appear to have had any effect. Some argue that this is because badgers do not pass TB on to cattle; others argue that too few badgers have been killed and this is why levels of TB in cattle are increasing.

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Why are badgers still being killed?

A committee of scientists under the chairmanship of Professor Krebs produced a report for the Government in December 1997. In that report, they admitted that it was not known with absolute certainty whether or not killing badgers really does reduce TB in cattle; this is because none of the badger culling operations carried out over the previous 23 years had been evaluated scientifically. Therefore it was recommended that an experiment should be undertaken, in which the killing of badgers should be carried out in such a way that its effects could be properly assessed. The Labour Government decided that the experiment should go ahead. Professor John Bourne was appointed to head an Independent Scientific Group to oversee the experiment.

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What does the badger culling experiment involve?

The experiment is taking place in ten different areas in England. In each area there are three neighbouring zones, each measuring 100 square kilometres; these groups of three zones are known as 'triplets'. In each triplet, one 100 square kilometre zone is subjected to pro-active culling, that is, as many badgers as possible in that area are killed. In the second zone of each triplet, reactive culling takes place, that is, badgers are killed only on those farms where cattle are found to be infected with TB. In the third zone of each triplet, no culling takes place. The levels of TB in the cattle in all of the areas is monitored, so that the effects of the three different badger "treatments" can be assessed.

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How many badgers will be killed?

It is not known for certain how many badgers will be killed under the experiment. 10,000 or 12,000 are the numbers put forward by the Government. However, Dr Elaine King of the Badger Trust believes that the true figure will be in the region of 20,000.

The Government has pointed out that the number of badgers being culled is relatively small when compared with the size of the total UK badger population. The cull will have only a small impact on the national population. However, in those areas where "pro-active" culling is taking place, the aim is to kill as many badgers as possible. This means that badgers could be virtually wiped out across a total of 1,000 square kilometres of the English countryside.

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Does the culling cause badgers to suffer?

DEFRA has stated that all of its field operatives are fully trained, so that when cage-trapped badgers are shot, they are killed instantly. Prior to shooting however, the trapped badgers will be held in unnatural confinement, and for many of the badgers involved this will be a stressfull experience. Furthermore, the mesh of DEFRA cage traps is quite wide. This enables trapped badgers to get their teeth and claws through the mesh, and this leads to injuries.

Another concern is the fate of badger cubs which are orphaned when their mothers are killed. No culling takes place from February 1st until April 30th, to reduce the number of cubs which might be left to starve underground when their mothers are shot. However, nearly 20% of badger cubs are born in December and January. A closed season starting on February 1st will not help these cubs - if their mothers are killed in December or January, they will die of starvation.

In addition, it must be remembered that cubs are dependant on their mother's milk for a period of at least 3 months. Although cubs born in early February may survive if their mothers are killed in early May, those born after this time will not. In a survey of cub births in south-west England, Ernest Neal found that about one third of all badger cubs are born in the first half of February. Taking into account the 20% of cubs born before February, this means that about 45% of cubs are born from the second half of February onwards - and these will cubs die from starvation if their mothers are caught in DEFRA cage traps and shot in early May when the closed season ends. In the summer of 2000 a number of orphaned cubs were found wandering about above ground in culling areas, starving. Many more must have died without being found. This amounts to cruelty on a massive scale and in my view is totally unacceptable.

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Picture credits

The Eurasian badger photo used at the head of this Article is © Steve Jackson. Credits for the photos used in the right-hand margin of this page for site navigation can be found on the Credits page.

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