The badger culling policy in England to control bovine tuberculosis remains one of the most contested wildlife welfare debates in Britain, pitting farm animal disease control against wild animal welfare.
The badger-bTB policy creates direct welfare harm at a large scale. Shooting is the primary cull method, and estimates suggest a significant proportion of badgers are not killed cleanly, dying slowly from wounds over hours to days. The scale - tens of thousands of badgers culled annually - means aggregate welfare harm is very large. The counterfactual welfare harm is also significant: bovine TB causes suffering in affected cattle and leads to slaughter of TB-positive herds. The welfare evidence base for culling efficacy is contested, and the perturbation effect means badly designed or maintained cull areas may cause TB spread rather than reduction. Vaccination is welfare-positive for both badgers and cattle but requires sustained long-term investment.