Wildlife charity fears mass badger culling in Shropshire

Recent Government plans suggest an end to granting cull licences in 2022, but The Wildlife Trusts said this could result in a rush of applications for badger cull licences across the county.

The trust, which is made up of 46 environmental charities across the UK, estimates another 130,000 badgers could be killed over the next four years – the length of most cull licences – and is urging the government to stop issuing them immediately.

Helen Trotman, people and wildlife manager at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said: “The proposals include reducing the upfront financial commitment of cull companies for licences to be granted which could ultimately mean tax payers are paying for culls to be completed if cull companies collapse and the costs can’t be recovered from them.

"What’s particularly worrying for Shropshire is the potential for additional badger cull areas to be pushed through in time to meet the deadline. This could mean culling over the whole of Shropshire.”

Consultation

The Wildlife Trusts have been firmly opposed to the badger cull and believe that it is an ineffective tool in the fight against bovine tuberculosis. To date, more than 140,000 badgers have been culled. The proposals recently announced by the government as part of a consultation process could result in about 130,000 badgers being killed, taking the total to almost 300,000. The total badger population in England and Wales was estimated to be around 485,000 in 2017.

The charity is calling on the public to respond to the government's consultation which ends on March 24.

It says the proposals would have different implications for different parts of England. In the high risk areas for bovine TB in the South West and West, the end of many years of badger culling may now be in sight, but in those counties that lie in the Edge Area like Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and other central counties, the proposals could lead to a rush in applications for badger cull licences that will run for at least four years.

Jo Smith, chief executive at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, added: “There is much confusion in the public domain about the Government proposals to end the badger cull. Recent media headlines stated that the cull would end in 2022 but the reality is that badger culling will continue until 2026. This is because the majority of cull licences last four years.”

To respond to the consultation visit action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/77618/action/1