I have written and talked about foxes in the UK in a population crisis and heading for another extinct6ion and I have done similar regarding badgers, and people seem to pay no attention. Here is a message from the Badger trust that has to be read before it is too late.
It is that time of year again when cubs are meeting an untimely death at the hands of government-endorsed shooters.
Whilst we enjoy walks in spring bluebells and laying in early summer sunshine, we are weighed down with the sadness of knowing that thousands of badger families are being destroyed.
Just as this year's fluffy and energetic young cubs start exploring life above ground and becoming more confident in their adventures – making for some adorable photographs and videos – we fear for the fate of the badgers whose images we capture.
June 1st marks the start of the supplementary badger cull
The supplementary badger cull kicks off on June 1st. Apparently, the supplementary cull is licensed because the first round of intensive killing wasn’t ‘enough’. In an era where all the evidence shows that badgers are not the main cause of bTB in cattle and that the majority of badgers do not even carry bTB, we are left with a nauseating feeling of what ‘enough’ means.
Badger numbers have been decimated in certain areas of England as a direct result of the cull. Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are some of the worst affected areas. Badger Trust suspects their local badger populations have been seriously affected, with long-term repercussions for the species’ survival.
In 2022 there were 29 new zones issued with supplementary cull licences. These areas had already been given permission to intensively kill 70% of the badgers living in the cull zone. But then, they were given licences to kill any badgers the shooters may have missed or had been born since the last round of culling. Figures released by DEFRA recorded 7,974 badgers were killed in the West of England between June 2022 and January 2023, just in the supplementary cull zones. This did not include the intensive culling of badgers, which last year totalled over 33,000 badgers killed.
DEFRA’s price for a badger’s life
The government's commitment to phase out the cull by 2026 falls short of actually happening in reality. Why? Because of the lack of infrastructure or commitment to make this happen. DEFRA has been too slow to deliver advancements in cattle welfare at the scale and pace necessary to make a difference to bTB in cattle. We fear DEFRA will continue to take the ‘easy option’ (for them) and will continue to scapegoat badgers.
Peter Hambly, Executive Director of Badger Trust, said:
“Over 210,000 badgers have been needlessly killed already, and we predict at least 30,000 more will be killed this year. We begin to wonder if these shooters and policymakers are starting to feel the burden of so many deaths as a direct result of their hand on the trigger.”
In 2018 we learnt that farmers are paid £50 for every badger they kill. That means every badger cub you see in real life or on social media has a very real bounty on its head if it lives in a cull zone.
Peter continued:
“The first thing many of this year’s new badger cubs will see when they come out of their sett is the barrel of a gun. At the same time as we say we want to be more nature-friendly by 2030, we are killing our native wildlife on a daily basis – to the brink of extinction in some areas of England.”
Unless you are a badger…
In 2022 the UK signed a global deal to address the loss of biodiversity by 2030 at the CoP15, a commitment further supported by England's Environment Bill. Part of the commitment at CoP15 was to reform subsidies that harm biodiversity, that the abundance of native wild species is increased to healthy and resilient levels, and that genetic diversity within populations is maintained to ensure their long-term adaptive potential. By their actions, it would appear the government had a clause that said, ‘unless you are a badger.’
Our government has yet to take this legally binding agreement seriously and put the necessary procedures in place to make this species protection happen in reality. Whilst an economy-wide strategy is needed, a relatively quick and cost-efficient first step would be to stop the corrupt and dangerous badger cull. Ending the cull would save millions of taxpayer money each year that could be put into rewarding nature-friendly, ethical farming practices that support the land and honour animal welfare. DEFRA could start by rewarding responsible cattle husbandry, movement, testing, and vaccination, all actions that will make a genuine difference to bovine TB control in England.
Hope for badgers
Despite all the depressing news, there is hope. That hope comes from people-power, which works every time we speak up or take action to protect our natural world and, ultimately, our futures. Many individuals and organisations are working hard to make a change every day, locally and nationally, ensuring that nature continues to have a place in our world.
From the Badger Groups on the ground working with farmers, developers, or police to fight badger crime, to the individuals making their gardens more wildlife friendly by allowing access holes in fences, or leaving areas of their garden uncut. These are just a few examples of how we can all make a difference and show the government that our environmental expectations are high.
These positive, incremental changes all make a difference. But major change cannot happen on a small budget. The reality is that it is impossible to make the giant steps forward that we would like regarding badger welfare and conservation without the budgets of larger charities.
State of the Badger project
But we are trying, and we won’t give up. This year we launched our State of The Badger project to determine exactly what effect the cull has had on badger populations in England, something that DEFRA has yet to do. With the help of an expert Scientific Advisory Group, and many, many volunteers, we are building our network of trusted supporters so that we can continue to be the leading voice for badgers in England and Wales.
This is just one of several exciting projects we are setting up this year, and we can’t wait to share them with you as they unfold.
We are already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. So let's all do our part and work together to ensure we don’t lose any more of our precious native species. When they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
Dr Hannah Trayford
Badger Trust Campaigns and Research Manager
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