The Labour government has published details of badger culling licenses that could result in the targeting of almost 40,000 additional badgers in 2024. These culls, across the High-Risk bovine TB area in England, will be in addition to the 230,000 that have been killed since licensed culling was introduced in 2013.
The licenses cover 20 ‘intensive cull zones’, which are on their third or fourth year of intensive culling, plus 26 ‘supplementary licenses’ extending the culls in zones which have completed four years of intensive culling. Badger populations in some of these latter zones are now being targeted for the ninth consecutive year, while other zones have been issued supplementary licenses for the first time.
The government has also published licenses for two new cull zones in the Low-Risk TB area in England, one in Lincolnshire and one in Cumbria, but has not released figures detailing how many badgers can be targeted.
Recently, this study found that although culling does reduce cattle infection in the immediate area, it seems to increase infection in surrounding areas - due to displaced badgers spreading it - which is exactly what everyone opposing the culls predicted way back when they started.
There’s also a humane alternative that we know does work - catching and vaccinating badgers https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/06/badger-vaccination-cull-eradicate-bovine-tuberculosis-btb-farmers-cornwall-study-zsl-aoe
There is also a vaccine for cattle but DEFRA won’t approve its use in this country.
I would be up for volunteer work vaccinating badgers.
That’s an absolute shit ton of animals. Imagine the infrastructure, human resources, costs, energy use, all that. We’re not talking about catch-and-release of a few hundred acres here.
Call 'em 30lbs. each, close enough. The 40,000 they intend to cull this year adds up to 1,200,000 pounds of live, angry animal. Quite a chore!