The badger cull in England — aimed at reducing bovine tuberculosis — is one of the most contentious wildlife management policies in the UK, raising serious animal welfare concerns.
Badger culling causes significant welfare harm to individual badgers through both the killing methods used and the dispersal effects on surviving social groups. Free shooting of badgers in the dark causes injuries when shots are not immediately lethal; trapped badgers experience prolonged confinement stress before shooting. The scientific debate about effectiveness is also a welfare debate — if culling does not substantially reduce bTB, the welfare cost has no corresponding benefit. Badger vaccination is a welfare-superior alternative that also reduces the risk of bTB transmission.