Pilot badger culls approved
Approval has been given for pilot badger culls to take place in Somerset and Gloucestershire, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has confirmed.
The announcement was made at the National Farmers Union (NFU) annual conference, along with plans for a reserve pilot cull in Dorset.
Once final licence conditions are met, Natural England is set to authorise a six-week badger cull that can take place from June 1, and be repeated annually for four years.
Current practice will remain, with badgers being shot in the open rather than being trapped in cages first.
The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has ensured that the pilot will be independently checked, to confirm that humane methods are being used and that enough badgers are being removed.
Uncertainty had previously surrounded whether the pilots would go ahead, following legal battles and a consequential postponement late last autumn.
However, £500 million has been spent tackling bovine tuberculosis (bTB) – the disease spread by badgers – in the last 10 years. A figure that could double if action is not taken, said Mr Paterson.
"I am determined that there are no further delays this year," he commented. "That is why we have taken the sensible step with the farming industry to elect a reserve area that can be called upon should anything happen to prevent culling in Somerset or Gloucestershire."
The pilot culls have faced ongoing controversy, particularly from animal welfare campaigners who believe an alternative approach should be used. As such, the RSPCA has offered to help fund a vaccination.
"We obviously need to so something but we have to do the right thing – the cull is wrong," said Gavin Grant, chief executive of the RSPCA.
"We're ready to put our effort behind a funded [vaccination] programme if the government will match it."
