Born Free charity lobbied MPs to bring end to badger culling.

Born Free staff and supporters alongside the Badger Trust and the League Against Cruel Sports attended an event at the Houses of Parliament to lobby MPs to bring an immediate end to the UK badger cull.

Attendees included Born Free’s head of policy Dr Mark Jones, its British wildlife advocate Dominic Dyer, Peter Hambly from the Badger Trust, and ecologist Tom Langton.

In 2022, Dr Jones, Mr Langton and veterinary surgeon Iain McGill authored a study published in VetRecord which analysed the impact of badger culling on bovine tuberculosis in cattle in the high-risk area of England.

Their study, which examined government data obtained over a wide area from 2009-2020, failed to identify a meaningful effect of badger culling on bTB in English cattle herds. 

Dr Jones said: “Since 2013, more than 210,000 badgers have been cruelly killed under licence in England, yet the evidence for its effectiveness in reducing Bovine TB is at best equivocal. In spite of promises to the contrary, there are real fears that the government plans to extend culling for many years to come, which could lead to the disappearance of badgers from areas of the country they have inhabited since the ice age. 

“We hope our efforts in Westminster today will help to persuade at least a few MPs that the time to bring an end to this inhumane, ineffective and unnecessary slaughter is long overdue, and we urge ministers and the Chief Vet and Chief Scientist at Defra to meet with us to hear our concerns. 

“I would like to thank everyone who attended the parliamentary lobby and urge all our friends and supporters to keep calling for an end to the cull. With our wildlife in crisis, it cannot be right for government to licence the mass extermination of one of our few remaining iconic mammals for the sake of political expediency.”

The UK badger cull is part of the Government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis and protect the livelihoods of dairy and beef farmers.

Recent Government statistics revealed that the number of cattle slaughtered due to a TB incident in England is at its lowest level since 2008.