Zoological society concern at Defra badger cull plan

The Zoological Society of London has voiced concerns about Defra plans to allow further badger culling in hotspot areas of bovine tuberculosis.

In a response to a government consultation on the issue, the society said it had three main areas of concern.

Defra wants to authorise the continued culling of badgers in areas which have already undergone four years of culling

But the society said Defra’s plan to license further culls “moved away from the empirical evidence that it used to justify its culling policy”.

See also: Defra plans long term badger cull to combat bovine TB

Outlining its first concern, the society said culling had not yet delivered any measurable benefits, so prolonged culling might deliver no benefits at all – or even cause prolonged harm.

The second concern is over plans to abandon restrictions on the proportion of accessible land, which the society says risks patchy culls.

Strong evidence

“This is a cause for concern because there is strong evidence that patchy culls risk worsening cattle TB rather than reducing it,” said the society’s consultation response.

The third area of concern is over Defra proposals that Natural England should issue further cull licences only if a prior cull is judged effective.

The society warns that asking for licensing decisions based on judgement without evidence could cause difficulty for a science-based organisation such as Natural England.

In a further response, the society says it has “grave concerns” that Natural England cannot evaluate whether licensed culls have met Defra’s stated criteria for “effectiveness”.

It says Defra’s estimates of badger numbers have proven highly inaccurate.

“Without reliable estimates of initial population size, any estimate of population size reduction is likewise unreliable,” says the society’s consultation response.

Unknowable population

“Unfortunately, now that culls have commenced in these areas the initial badger population size is unknowable,” it adds.

The society also cautions that “Defra’s recent claims of successful culls are equally unreliable.”

It says the effectiveness of badger culling would be better measured as the reduction in cattle TB it delivers, rather than the reduction in badger numbers it achieves.

The NFU, which believes bovine TB must be controlled in wildlife if it is to be controlled in cattle, has also submitted a response to the consultation.

The government consultation closed on Friday (10 February).

The government will now consider the responses before deciding whether to license further culls.