Details in a new study have revealed no evidence that the mass killing of badgers prevents bovine TB in cattle.
The study, which has been published on-line was co-authored by Born Free’s Dr Mark Jones and can be found here.
Since 2013 badgers in designated High-Risk Areas of England have been shot on mass as part of a government effort to control bovine TB, however, a statement from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said that, by the end of 2020, the policy had seen more than 140,000 mostly healthy badgers killed across 54 licenced cull zones. It criticised the spent of more than £100 million of public money on disease control in cattle every year at what it said was "a huge cost to the taxpayer, the farming community, and the UK’s precious wildlife."
Dave Savage from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust took time to review the report. He said: “This report shows clear scientific evidence that the needless slaughter of thousands of badgers every year should be immediately stopped. Beef and dairy stock owned and managed by UK Farmers are important and should be protected in the right way. This should be through better herd management and controlled movement, accelerating the introduction of an effective cattle vaccine and improved bTB testing in cattle. The culling of thousands more badgers on top of the 140,000 already killed will continue to at least 2025 when the current licences end. Instead, this needless mass killing should stop now.”