Badger Welfare: Culling, Bovine TB, and Road Casualties

Badgers in the UK face welfare harms from government culling programmes aimed at reducing bovine TB, road casualties, and historical persecution. Their welfare is deeply contested politically.

Key Facts

The UK badger cull has killed over 250,000 badgers since 2013 as part of bovine TB control strategy
Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of badger culling is contested — vaccination is a proven alternative
Badgers are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 except under specific licences
An estimated 50,000 badgers are killed on UK roads each year
Badger baiting — setting dogs against badgers — is illegal but still occurs in rural areas
Badgers are highly social, living in family groups (clans) in shared sett systems

Welfare Considerations

Free-shoot culling (where marksmen shoot badgers as they emerge from setts at night) results in a proportion of wounded animals that escape injured. Official estimates of wounding rates have been contested, with independent studies suggesting significantly higher rates than government figures. Wounded badgers may survive for days with serious injuries. Cage trapping and subsequent shooting is more welfare-controlled but involves significant trapping stress and group disruption. Badger baiting causes severe injury from dog attacks. Road casualties die from traumatic impact, often at night with no possibility of veterinary intervention. The social disruption caused by culling — separating family groups — is itself a welfare harm.

What You Can Do

Support badger vaccination programmes as an alternative to culling for bovine TB control
Report suspected badger baiting to police wildlife crime units
Slow down when driving on rural roads at night, particularly in autumn when badgers are active
Write to your MP to advocate for science-based TB policy that prioritises cattle and badger vaccination