Badgers in the UK face culling programs aimed at reducing bovine tuberculosis, raising profound welfare questions about the justification, humaneness, and effectiveness of lethal population control.
Badger culling raises severe welfare concerns. Free shooting in field conditions — where shot placement cannot be controlled and animals may be moving — results in a significant proportion of badgers being wounded rather than killed cleanly. Wounded badgers may suffer for extended periods before dying or being found. The social disruption caused by culling — called "perturbation" — scatters surviving badgers into new territories, potentially spreading TB further and disrupting stable social groups. Cage trapping before killing reduces welfare harms but is more expensive. Vaccination programs avoid lethal welfare harms entirely while building herd immunity. The welfare case for prioritizing vaccination over culling is strong, particularly given scientific uncertainty about culling effectiveness.