Bovine Tuberculosis and Badger Culling: Welfare and Science

The UK badger cull to control bovine tuberculosis is one of the most contested wildlife management policies in British history. Welfare and science both inform this complex debate.

Key Facts

The UK kills approximately 70,000 badgers annually in the cull — one of Europe largest sustained wildlife killing programmes
Bovine tuberculosis costs the UK GBP 100+ million annually in livestock compensation, testing, and slaughter
The evidence that culling reduces bTB is contested — the Randomised Badger Culling Trial showed short-term local reductions but wider perturbation effects
Badger vaccination using oral or injectable BCG vaccine is an alternative that avoids welfare costs of culling
Badgers are intelligent, family-oriented animals with complex social structures that are severely disrupted by culling
The Krebs Review and subsequent independent scientific panels have consistently highlighted the limitations of culling evidence

Welfare Considerations

The badger cull presents a genuine welfare dilemma. Culled badgers face shooting deaths that may be imprecise, causing injuries rather than immediate kills in some cases. The social disruption of culled populations may increase badger movement and paradoxically spread bTB — the perturbation effect. Meanwhile, cattle with bTB are slaughtered in large numbers, also causing welfare harm. The most welfare-consistent approach is vaccination of both badgers and cattle combined with improved cattle testing sensitivity and biosecurity measures. The persistent choice of culling over vaccination reflects political and farming community factors rather than superior scientific evidence.

What You Can Do

Support Badger Trust campaigns advocating for vaccination over culling in bTB control policy
Write to Defra and your MP with the evidence on vaccination effectiveness and perturbation effects
Advocate for accelerated deployment of cattle vaccination once regulatory approval is secured
Engage with farming communities on integrated bTB control approaches that protect both cattle and badgers
Share independent scientific review conclusions on badger culling evidence with farmers and rural communities