Badger Trust calls on Northern Ireland Executive not to introduce ‘English-style’ mass badger cull
- Badger Trust Staff Team
- Sep 13, 2021
- 3 min read
Consultation response urges DAERA to abandon mass cull proposal as least effective, most inhumane and expensive bovine TB management option
Badger Trust, the voice for badgers in England and Wales, has responded to the main recommended policy to introduce an ‘English-style’ mass cull of badgers in Northern Ireland with a strong and clear dismissal. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) consultation, which closed on Friday, 10th September, set out options for management of bovine Tuberculosis (bTB), a respiratory disease in cattle, and proposed introducing a ‘non-selective cull’. This means that, as currently happens in England, badgers would simply be killed with no regard to their bTB status.
Adam Laidlaw, Executive Director of Badger Trust, said:
‘It is extraordinary, given the opportunity to learn from two distinct examples on its doorstep in England and Wales, that Northern Ireland should even consider following the least effective, most expensive, least humane, and most disproportionate option as used in England.
‘And only then to follow it up later with vaccination of the badger population. This is twice the cost to farmers and taxpayers alike with little hope of any impact on cattle disease.’
He continued: ‘Despite many efforts and at significant costs, the Government in Westminster still cannot produce any unequivocal evidence that the English culling of badgers is having any effect on disease rates among cattle. Compensation rates have actually increased, whilst bTB prevalence remains largely stable despite eight years of mass badger culling. Badgers are not the problem and a cull is not the solution. For the benefit of badgers, cattle and farmers, we urge DAERA to take this opportunity to change tack now. ’
The DAERA consultation closed on Friday, 10th September 2021, and Badger Trust submitted a 13-page response to the six question survey. A 10,000 plus signature petition calling for DAERA to remove the option of a non-selective cull from the options to be included in the bTB eradication strategy is being jointly run by the Northern Ireland Badger Group, USPCA and Ulster Wildlife. This is ongoing and has been promoted by wildlife campaigners such as Chris Packham.
Further information:
Read Badger Trust’s consultation submission here
Badger Trust has an affiliated badger group in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Badger Group http://www.badgersni.org.uk
The USPCA and Ulster Wildlife petition has gathered over 10,000 signatures to date, supported by Northern Ireland Badger Group. The USPCA petition can be found on the USPCA website (both petitions will be combined prior to being handed in). Chris Packham tweeted his support and asked people to sign the petition.
The English badger cull is expected to see final mass cull licences issued in 2022, further to the UK Government’s own consultation earlier in the year, and subsequent announcement of its bTB eradication policy. Read Badger Trust’s response here.
The Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford, made a clear statement in July 2021 that the newly elected Welsh Labour administration would be focusing on cattle movements and cattle measures as the starting point for managing bTB. Welsh Labour has categorically committed to never implementing a mass cull of badgers, with its ‘Programme for Government’ stating the Government ‘Forbid the culling of badgers to control the spread of TB in cattle’ (page 16). Full details on how Wales shows the way on bTB here.
Badger Trust exists to promote and enhance the welfare, conservation and protection of badgers, their setts, and their habitats. We are the leading voice for badgers in England and Wales, with a network of over 50 local voluntary badger groups and supported by thousands of supporters and followers.
