Badger culling as a bovine tuberculosis control measure remains deeply contested, with evidence questioning its efficacy and significant welfare concerns about the humaneness of licensed culling methods.
Badger culling causes individual welfare impacts including wounding of non-lethal shots, disruption of social groups and distress during trapping. The perturbation effect from disrupted social groups may increase rather than decrease bTB spread. Welfare advocates argue that vaccination programmes represent both a more humane and potentially more effective long-term strategy.