Now over 210,000 badgers lost to the cull, up to half of Britain's estimated population
- Badger Trust Staff Team
- Apr 5, 2023
- 4 min read
Badger Trust says enough is enough as culling spells disaster for a protected species.
Today's Defra announcement reveals at least 33,627 badgers were slaughtered in 2022 as part of its controversial badger cull strategy. The figures confirm the fears of animal welfare charities and their supporters across the country that up to half of Britain’s total badger population have now been killed, a total of 210,555 badgers.
Implemented in 2013 as a highly contested measure to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle, scientific research has repeatedly proved that culling badgers is an unscientific, inhumane, and ineffective approach to curbing a disease that is spread from cattle to cattle in 94% of cases.
Table of badger cull figures 2013 to 2022
Badger setts across England are empty
Already the most nature-depleted landscape of all G7 nations, Britain cannot afford to lose even more of its native species, particularly those which are vital to the health of our countryside. As ecosystem engineers, badgers dig and forage, rejuvenate the soil and provide shelter and nesting sites for other wildlife, like pollinating insects, birds and small mammals.
However, shockingly, for the first time in history, badger setts across England are empty.
Some of these setts can be hundreds of years old and form part of our natural heritage. Their vacancy, alongside a yearly tax-payer bill of £100 million and no significant decrease in bTB herd breakdowns, is the legacy of a government strategy that has not worked.
Watch ‘Our wish for badgers’
Badger culling doesn’t work
The latest scientific analysis of Defra’s bTB figures, published in 2022, has shown that badger culling does not work as a cattle protection strategy. Instead, restricting cattle movements and enhanced biosecurity (neither of which are mandated under current government policy) are effective at reducing rates of bTB herd breakdowns.
Epidemiological research has demonstrated that as few as 20% of farms are responsible for 80% of cattle movement, and large farms with over 1000 trade connections act as hubs for spreading disease. Why kill badgers when there is evidence of where to target stricter measures to protect the farm sector?
Both Wales and Scotland have far fewer cases of bTB than England, and neither country culls badgers. Instead, they concentrate on cattle-based measures. With only 15% of English adults supporting badger culling, and bTB persisting in England despite the loss of up to half of Britain’s badgers, the government must finally accept that enough is enough – badger culling has not worked.
Peter Hambly, Executive Director of Badger Trust, explained:
“Badger setts across England are lying empty for the first time in history. One of our most iconic native wild animals is being wiped from parts of our natural landscape because of the badger cull.”
“We know killing badgers isn’t the way to control bovine tuberculosis. Scientific research repeatedly proves that culling doesn’t work. The governments in Wales and Scotland don’t cull badgers.
So why won’t Defra end the cull and concentrate on more effective disease-control methods that will make a lasting difference to English farmers?”
What is Badger Trust doing?
This year, to mark this appalling milestone of more than 210,000 dead badgers, Badger Trust has launched an investigative study into the contemporary history of the badger culling policy. The report, expected to be published in Autumn 2023, will combine evidence from the scientific community with policy analysis and stakeholder engagement to show the true extent of the damage that has been caused by badger culling in England.
The report will outline the impacts of the cull on animal welfare, conservation, and the public and farming sector, whilst providing evidence that bTB can be controlled more effectively without culling protected wildlife.
Overall, the loss of badgers is a twofold tragedy, as the loss of badgers will be a loss to our British cultural heritage and our already struggling ecosystems. The beloved brock is deserving of our protection, it is not deserving of a relenting government effort to see its annihilation. This disaster has gone on for too long. Enough is enough. It is time to end the cull.
* Kill method undefined for 318 badgers in 2013.
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