The badger cull in England remains one of the most contentious wildlife management policies in recent UK history, with animal welfare at the heart of the debate.
Badgers killed in the cull suffer acute welfare harms during trapping and shooting. Free-shooting (shooting without prior cage trapping) has particularly poor welfare outcomes — wounded, unrecovered badgers are documented. The effectiveness evidence for culling is disputed by independent scientists. Badger vaccination programmes, now expanded, provide a welfare-positive alternative. TB cattle testing, movement controls and cattle vaccination — now progressing — address the bovine TB problem without wildlife harm.