Killing revelations cast further doubts on badger cull pilots

The revelation that only 24 per cent of the badgers in the two areas were culled using “controlled shooting” – shooting free-running badgers – in the original six-week culls has prompted criticism of Government claims that the pilots were a success.

The West Country culls were run to see if controlled shooting could be done safely, humanely and effectively as part of a programme to reduce bovine TB in cattle herds.

Previous studies showed that, to be effective in reducing the disease in herds, culling had to remove 70 per cent of the badgers in an area.

But a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed that in the West Somerset pilot just 360 badgers, some 25 per cent of the total estimated population of 1,450 in the area, were killed by controlled shooting in the original six-week period. Far more – 490 badgers – were trapped in cages and shot in that time.

In West Gloucestershire 543 badgers were killed through controlled shooting in the six weeks, 23 per cent of the estimated population of 2,350, while 165 were cage-trapped and shot.

The pilot culls have already been criticised for not being effective, as the overall number of badgers killed fell short of the 70 per cent benchmark in both areas.

In West Gloucestershire just 30 per cent of the badgers were killed and in West Somerset the figure was 60 per cent.

Both culls were extended and in total 40 per cent of badgers were killed in Gloucestershire and 65 per cent in Somerset.

Critics of the cull, who claim it is not an effective way of reducing bTB in cattle herds and is inhumane, said the breakdown of the figures for methods of culling further undermined claims by Government that the pilots were successful.