Born Free warns Northern Ireland and Wales against badger culling
As the devolved nations consider wildlife controls, Born Free expresses concerns over possible badger culling plans.
Born Free has expressed deep concern over moves that could see badger culling introduced in Northern Ireland and potentially considered in Wales, warning that the policy risks repeating the mistakes of England’s widely criticised cull programme.
In its response to the Consultation on Potential Wildlife Intervention Options as part of the Bovine Tuberculosis in Northern Ireland: Blueprint for Eradication, which closed on 9th October, Born Free argues that the evidence does not support claims that targeting badgers would make a meaningful contribution to reducing bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle.
Instead, resources should be directed towards strengthening cattle testing, movement controls and biosecurity measures, and ultimately introducing cattle vaccination, which the evidence clearly shows are the primary tools for tackling disease transmission.
The Northern Ireland proposals also raise serious welfare concerns about the suggested use of stopped restraints to trap badgers, the potential extension of intervention periods into the critical breeding season, and the wider environmental consequences of lethal wildlife control.
Northern Ireland’s own County Down Test, Vaccinate and Remove (TVR) project, which took place over 5 years and ended in 2018, reduced TB prevalence in badgers but failed to demonstrate a statistically attributable reduction in cattle TB incidence. There is no reason to believe that its resurrection would produce a different outcome.
The warning comes amid renewed debate in Wales, where the Senedd recently backed a motion calling on ministers to consider targeted wildlife control if recommended by advisers and ‘supported by evidence’. The motion does not authorise a cull but reopens the possibility of lethal badger control as part of future bTB policy.
These developments are both tragic and ironic given that England has recently moved away from large-scale badger culling after years of controversy, while Wales, which rejected badger culling as an option as far back as 2012, has successfully reduced bTB in cattle without targeting wildlife.
In its submission to the Northern Ireland consultation, Born Free notes the finding of the Council of Europe’s Bern Convention that badger culling in England has had no meaningful contribution to the control of bTB in cattle, and urges Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to abandon wildlife interventions and progress cattle-focussed controls with greater urgency.
Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free Foundation, said: “After years of killing tens of thousands of badgers in England without credible evidence of any significant impact on bovine TB in cattle, it is deeply concerning that other UK nations are now considering going down the same failed. Governments should focus on effective cattle-based disease controls, and humane, science-led approaches, while rejecting the needless targeting and killing of our protected native wildlife.”
You can find Born Free’s response to the Northern Ireland consultation below.