Badgers occupy a complex position in UK wildlife policy. The intersection of bovine tuberculosis, culling, and conservation creates significant welfare challenges.
Badger welfare sits at a painful intersection of conservation, agriculture, and contested science. Culled badgers suffer welfare harms from shooting - not all shots are immediately lethal, and wounded animals may suffer before death. The scientific case for culling as a bTB control measure remains disputed, with leading epidemiologists questioning whether the benefits outweigh the welfare costs and ecological harms. Vaccination is a welfare-positive alternative that immunises badgers without killing them. The welfare of cattle affected by bTB is also a genuine concern: infected cattle face prolonged disease and compulsory slaughter. A one-health approach that prioritises vaccination of both badgers and cattle offers the most welfare-positive resolution.