Wildlife

Wild Badger: Culling, Vaccination and Welfare Evidence

The badger culling programme for bovine TB prevention has significant welfare implications alongside contested effectiveness evidence.

Key Facts

England's badger cull has killed over 250,000 badgers since 2013
Perturbation from culling may disperse infected badgers, potentially spreading BTB
Badger vaccination (BCG) reduces infection prevalence with significantly lower welfare cost
Individual badgers killed in culls die from shooting, causing variable welfare outcomes by method

Welfare Considerations

Badgers killed in culling operations suffer welfare costs that range from immediate death to prolonged injury and death from poor shooting. Vaccination achieves TB reduction without killing, representing the welfare-superior approach. The welfare costs of culling must be weighed transparently in policy decisions.

What You Can Do

Support Badger Trust campaigns for culling phase-out and vaccination rollout
Donate to Badger vaccination programmes as alternatives to culling
Advocate for independent review of cull effectiveness and welfare cost evidence