Ahead of winning the recent general election, the Labour Party wooed nature-loving voters by vowing to “end the ineffective badger cull” in its manifesto. However, it appears the government is now considering expanding the cull, after just over one month in power.
The badger cull, which has now been running for over a decade, has already seen more than 230,000 of the beloved mammals killed in the English countryside.
The badger blame game
Natural England revealed that a new cull is being considered when announcing yet another public consultation. The body explained that it has received an application for culling in an area of Cumbria and invited potentially affected parties to comment if they believe it will impact their livelihoods or daily activities. These consultations are a routine event signalling that the body is considering authorising culls.
In comments provided to Protect the Wild, a Natural England spokesperson said:
“As both the wildlife licensing authority and Government’s nature conservation advisor, our job is to ensure that the Government’s policy on badger culling and vaccination is implemented humanely, effectively and safely, with full regard to the impacts on nature conservation. We will consider this application in due course in accordance with the relevant statutory guidance.”
The news of a potential new cull will come as a shock to people who took Labour’s commitment to ending the cull as meaning it would, well, end the cull swiftly. Ex-head of the Badger Trust, Dominic Dyer, voiced his outrage at the move on X:
Six weeks in office & is this new Labour Government are going to extend badger 🦡 culling with a new cull licence in Cumbria. Keir Stamer & Steve Reed have no intention of stopping the badger blame game. The senseless slaughter continues & is being expanded under new management… pic.twitter.com/yv3csEcnfy
— dominic dyer (@domdyer70) August 22, 2024
Similarly, conservation ecologist Tom Langton, told Protect the Wild:
“This news is shocking in several ways. Firstly it is a betrayal of all those who voted for a change in policy and an end to ineffective badger culling. Secondly it makes no sense as the science of cattle testing and badger culling points to the hidden reservoir being in the herd not the wider environment.”
It’s the herds, not the badgers
In 2022, Langton co-authored a comprehensive study on the impact of badger culling on bTB rates in cows. It essentially found that killing badgers is ineffective in tackling bTB. It pointed to cow-focused measures, such as enhanced testing, as being the way to meaningfully tackle the disease.
Last night’s BBC Two documentary, Brian May – The Badgers, the Farmers, and Me drew similar conclusions using on-the-ground evidence. It followed Brian May and Anne Brummer, CEO of the Save Me Trust, as they worked with a farm to eliminate bTB. They too found that the key to tackling bTB lies in the cow herds, not the badgers. (If you missed it catch up on iPlayer or read a review in The Guardian here.)
Despite evidence mounting that killing badgers does not assist in tackling bTB, however, the government appears intent on continuing the cull in the immediate future, risking alienating the public and causing further splits between scientists and vets and the farmers they are trying to help.
In addition to considering creating an entirely new cull zone, the government has also indicated that it will honour cull licences that were set up under the previous government. It’s important to note that these licences are only baked in to the extent that they exist, as Natural England has to authorise them each year ahead of the zones moving forward with a new round of killing. In other words, it is within the government’s power to end the cull sooner.
Considering all this, Langton added:
“It can only be concluded that the new Government has inherited the bad advisors of the old government.
Why, oh why can’t Defra recognise that the failures of the past need not continue? And that the right policy could bring relief to the farming industry within a few years, if they would only make the essential changes needed to testing regimes and just leave badgers alone.”
Badger scorched earth
While further detail on the new possible cull zone is not yet forthcoming, Natural England has confirmed it is in an area classified as low-risk for bTB.
Under the bTB policy, the government has divided England into three categories, high-risk (HRA), low-risk (LRA), and the ‘edge’ area that sits between the two.
While the vast majority of badger culling to date has taken place in the HRA, two prior culls have been authorised in the LRA. These culls took place in Cumbria and Lincolnshire. They differed from other culls in that Natural England did not set minimum or maximum targets for the number of badgers to be killed.
The body sets a maximum threshold to try and avoid local extinctions of badgers, which would put the UK at risk of violating its duties under the Bern Convention. This international agreement has a complaint against the UK over its cull on hold, with new evidence in the case submitted only recently.
As maximum thresholds are typically absent from culls in LRAs, the risk of badgers being wiped out in those areas is potentially greater, as concerns raised by organisations like Born Free and the Badger Trust over the lack of a cap show. Indeed, Langton has previously said that the aim in the prior Cumbria LRA cull was to “remove them [badgers] completely and that is what they did.” He described it as ‘badger scorched earth.”
It’s not the badgers
Despite its actions pointing to the contrary, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, says the government remains committed to ending the cull. In comments provided to Protect the Wild, Zeichner said:
“Bovine tuberculosis has been a tragedy for famers, vets and conservationists with thousands of cattle lost to the disease and badgers culled.
Tackling this disease is my number one priority in my role as Minister for Farming, Food and Rural Affairs. I am clear that we will beat bTB and end the cull once and for all, as we committed to doing in our manifesto.
While we need to honour previous commitments made to the farming sector and manage TB hotspots where vaccination cannot be used, I will be working at pace and in partnership with farmers, vets, conservationists and scientists to bring step change to build an ambitious eradication package that protects both livelihoods and wildlife and stamps out this awful disease.”
Echoing Zeicher’s comments, Natural England also pointed to badger vaccination as a key element of the bTB strategy moving forward. Its spokesperson commented:
“We are committed to a future where badger vaccination is the primary method for keeping this damaging disease at bay in wildlife.”
However, Langton rejects the idea that badger vaccination is necessary in order to end culling. Explaining why, he previously stated:
“If badger culling doesn’t work, then there’s no reason why badger vaccination should work, because it’s not the badgers that are to blame.”
Stand up for badgers
Protect the Wild will be joining in the National Day of Action Against the Cull on 3 September. Organised by the Badger Trust, the day will see many organisations and individuals come together to take a stand against the ongoing persecution of badgers.
Those gathering for the day of action are calling for an immediate end to the bloodshed. Other demands include a commitment from the government to prioritise the rapid development and roll-out of better cow-focused measures to tackle bTB.
Multiple organisations are joining the action, including Born Free, Wildlife and Countryside Link, and Animal Aid. The day’s events will include a demonstration in Parliament Square between 11am and 1.30pm, where participants will hear from a variety of speakers, including wildlife TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the day of action. As Protect the Wild founder Rob Pownall says, the more people who stand up, the better it is for badgers:
“Join us on 3 September 2024 for a powerful day of action with the Badger Trust as we unite to demand an end to the senseless badger cull. Protect the Wild stands with wildlife groups and badger protectors across the UK in calling on the new government to stop this cruel and ineffective practice.
Meet us outside Parliament in London, where together we will present petitions, demonstrate peacefully, and make our voices heard in a mass lobby of MPs. Your presence can make a difference – help us protect wildlife and bring an end to the cull once and for all.”
Header image by caroline legg / Flickr, cropped to 2240×1260, licensed under CC BY 2.0
