Race is on to start badger cull as appeal fails
Government officials are in a race against time to ensure a pilot badger cull to combat bovine TB starts in England this autumn.
After receiving the legal go-ahead, a cull must begin by mid-October at the latest to be completed before the closed season for cage trapping starts on 1 December as culling is not permitted while badgers feed their young.
A last ditch legal bid by the Badger Trust to halt the cull failed on Tuesday (11 September), clearing the way for culling to start this autumn in the two pilot areas, west Gloucestershire and west Somerset.
DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson said it would be a “major setback” if culling did not begin this autumn.
Natural England said it was working “flat out” to issue culling licences to groups contracting out trained marksmen amid claims the application process was taking too long.“Licensing arrangements are well advanced and we are working through the formal issues,” said a spokesman for Natural England.
“We are doing everything we can to move this forward, but we cannot commit to a guaranteed start date.”
A mixture of cage trapping and shooting and free shooting of badgers would be used, depending on the topography of individual sites, the spokesman added.
“Licensed applicants would be able to decide when to start culling. If they are aiming for a six-week period of continuous culling, they would need to start the pilot by mid-October at the latest to meet the demands of the closed season for cage trapping,” said the spokesman.
“However, while there is a longer window for free shooting, as the closed season starts in February, cold weather in December could reduce the potential to carry out controlled activity because badgers will be going to ground and their movement above ground will be limited.”
NFU president Peter Kendall was hopeful the cull would start as planned. “Once we have got the licences, we have still got to go out and get the money to fund the cull,” said Mr Kendall.
“If it looks like the weather or timing is wrong, I would rather wait until the start of spring than do it now and get it wrong.
“We are still redefining the areas that are in and out of the cull. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done.”
Mr Kendall said convincing the public that culling was the right approach would be a “difficult communication challenge”, but he urged everyone in the industry to back the cull.
“I have sat around kitchen tables talking to cattle farmers who have lost a lifetime’s work because of this terrible disease, which is devastating,” he added.
“I understand we are a nation of animal lovers, but we are trying to manage our wildlife on a crowded island.”
If the pilots are successful, more culls are likely to be rolled out next year.
Philip Case on G+