Local extinction events of badgers inevitable

New figures released by the government reveal that over 10,501 badgers have been marked for slaughter in England in licences issued under the controversial and ineffective intensive badger cull that started on 30 August 2024.

Adding this figure to the expected kill figures for the existing 2024 supplementary badger cull means the total number of badgers marked for slaughter this year in England now stands at up to 38,300. In Derbyshire, a total of 2,454 badgers have been targeted for slaughter in 2024.

The government’s astonishing policy to continue culling in areas with low badger populations makes local extinctions almost inevitable. Peter Hambly, Chief Executive of Badger Trust, said,"Killing wild, native badgers in these numbers is the biggest assault on nature and the most unethical approach to animal welfare on record.

Unlike Scotland and Wales, England unfairly focuses on the badger and carries out an unjustified, cruel, ineffective cull. Unlike cattle, badgers are not even pre-tested for bTB before slaughter. The most recent government study showed cattle are 800 times more likely to pass bTB to badgers than badgers to cattle. The government must properly test and vaccinate the cattle, not kill the badgers which are not responsible for the spread."

The situation in Derbyshire is particularly upsetting - this government, which said in its manifesto that the badger cull was ineffective, could be the one that causes local extinction events of badgers. This is a tragic day for nature in Derbyshire - 250,000 years of badgers could be ending in some areas."