Conservationists claim that badger cull areas were enlarged secretly and without consultation in England last year, resulting in a spike in mortality. Up to 5,000 additional animals may have been slaughtered, which is the equivalent of adding an entire new cull zone to the cull zone. And now, through Monday, Natural England, the government’s nature […]
Tag: badgers
The potential of nature: Halting wildlife decline will also protect 750,000 jobs, says MP
Crawley MP Henry Smith, a member of the Conservative Environment Network, said the Environment Bill going through Parliament does not set a legal deadline for halting wildlife declines. He also pointed out the natural environment supports nearly 750,000 jobs and more than £27 billion of the country’s economic output. Mr Smith said strong action is […]
POLL: Badgers are on the verge of local extinction. Should the culling of badgers be permanently banned?
Trials are underway of a skin test and cattle vaccine which could finally end the controversial badger cull, Britain’s top vets announced today. A pilot has begun on a farm in Hertfordshire which wildlife campaigners hope will save tens of thousands of badgers every year. In a world first, field trials for a cattle jab […]
Lessons learned from Covid-19 must spell the end of the badger cull
The badger cull policy has cost the lives of more than 140,000 badgers since 2013, in the largest destruction of a protected species in living memory. Badgers have been shot across a geographical area stretching from Cornwall to Cumbria at an estimated public cost of over £70m, when the costs of policing, training, monitoring, equipment, […]
Badger cull will kill 140,000 more animals before scheme is halted, ministers warned
Another 140,000 badgers face being culled before the controversial scheme is halted, campaigners have warned the Government. A three-month public consultation paving the way to end the programme closed this week, with ministers and officials now studying responses. The Badger Trust, which has always opposed the cull, fears tens of thousands more of the creatures […]
POLL: Should the UK Government abandon its failed, large-scale badger culling?
No new mass culls of badgers will be allowed in England after 2022, under government plans announced on Wednesday. Since 2013 more than 100,000 badgers have been killed in culls that are intended to reduce tuberculosis infections in cattle. About 30,000 cattle are slaughtered each year at a cost of £150m. The drive to eradicate […]
Why do Eurasian badgers live with foxes? Candid Animal Cam spots badgers
Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife. This week we’re meeting the Eurasian badger. Eurasian badgers live from England, Ireland and Spain to the eastern edges of Russia, China, and Japan. Due to their large range, 24 subspecies have been recognized. Badgers are […]
POLL: Should the badger cull in England be abandoned and replaced by vaccination?
Just one in 12 badgers found dead on roads has bovine tuberculosis, a Government-backed study has revealed – sparking calls to scrap the controversial cull. Researchers from Nottingham University collected and tested 610 “roadkill” badger carcasses, but found only 51 infected with the disease. The revelations came from a £497,000 study funded by the Department […]