Wildlife Welfare

Wild Badger Culling Welfare and Disease Management

The badger culling programme for bovine tuberculosis control in England raises significant welfare concerns for both badgers and cattle.

Key Facts

Over 200,000 badgers have been culled in England since 2013
Culled badgers have been found to include healthy individuals without bTB
Cage trapping followed by shooting takes longer and causes more suffering than free shooting
Evidence for the effectiveness of culling in reducing bTB remains contested
Vaccination using DIVA tests and oral vaccines offers a welfare-positive alternative

Welfare Considerations

Culling is inherently a welfare intervention with significant costs - badgers that are shot but not killed immediately suffer unnecessarily, and the stress of trapping is significant. The welfare of badgers must be weighed against cattle welfare impacts of bTB. Vaccination programmes that avoid lethal control deserve serious prioritisation where feasible.

What You Can Do

Support badger vaccination programmes as an alternative to culling
Engage with evidence-based bTB policy debates
Contact your MP about humane alternatives to badger culling