Badger culling to end in England within five years

The Government has promised to cease all badger culling by the end of this Parliament in 2029. 

As part of the new bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy, badgers will be vaccinated instead of killed. Work to develop a separate vaccine for livestock will also be stepped up. 

The Government hopes the strategy will deliver its target to eradicate the disease in England by 2038. 

While the Badger Trust criticised the Government for allowing culling that is already licensed this year to go ahead, the National Farmers’ Union said culling had worked against TB and shouldn’t be ruled out. 

The Government said its new strategy will deliver its manifesto pledge to end the “ineffective” culling. Daniel Zeichner, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, said the disease had “devastated British farmers and wildlife for far too long. Our comprehensive TB eradication package will allow us to end the badger cull by the end of this Parliament and stop the spread of this horrific disease,” he added. 

Over the past decade, bovine tuberculosis has resulted in more than 278,000 cattle being slaughtered. Dealing with outbreaks of the disease costs taxpayers more than £100m every year.