Badger cull policing cost to be met by DEFRA
The extra cost of policing the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset this summer will be met by DEFRA, it has emerged.
Cash-strapped police forces in the two pilot areas had been concerned that they would need to foot the bill for any protests and see their resources stretched further.
But a DEFRA spokesman said any additional costs beyond normal policing duties, such as bringing in additional police officers from neighbouring forces, would be paid for out of its budget.
“DEFRA will meet the additional costs incurred by Gloucestershire and Avon and Somerset constabularies to police this summer’s two badger cull pilots. The additional costs are likely to be down to extra staffing.”
The police forces will invoice DEFRA with their additional costs after the culls have finished. But it is too early to say how much policing the culls will cost as they had not started, the spokesman added.
The proposed six-week trial culls, part of a government package aimed at eradicating bovine tuberculosis, could begin any time from 1 June this year in the two counties.
“It’s all systems go as far as the badger cull is concerned. Everything is still planned to go ahead this summer,” said the DEFRA spokesman.
Animal rights campaigners have said they will target landowners involved in the cull and disrupt the shooting activities of marksmen during the nighttime culls.
Assistant chief constable Richard Berry, of Gloucestershire Police, said he understood the culls were a sensitive issue and the constabulary was not responsible for the policy itself.
“It is a DEFRA-managed issue under license from Natural England and it will be up to both of them to determine the timing of it,” he added.
Police will be “neutral and independent” in their handling of policing the cull in the county, he said.
“We will deliver our statutory responsibilities which include dealing with any incidents of crime and disorder and ensuring that anyone who wishes to protest peacefully and lawfully is able to do so,” he added.
“For operational reasons, we will not go into details of our plans but we would like people in Gloucestershire to be reassured that we will continue to deliver an effective local policing service before, during and after the proposed cull.
“At this stage, it is not possible or appropriate to put a figure on any costs of policing for the proposed cull but we have been told that any additional policing costs will be met by the government.”
Avon and Somerset Constabulary said it did not expect to draft in officers from neighbouring forces to police the cull.
“There are no plans in place to request officers on mutual aid,” confirmed a force spokesman.
He said the cost of policing the cull would be recovered “so the communities across Somerset will not be adversely affected”.
Figures released by DEFRA in October showed the estimated cost of policing the four-year culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire was £4m. Last summer’s aborted trials cost the taxpayer £1m.
See our dedicated page on bovine TB and the badger cull