Across England up to 75,000 badgers could be killed this year – taking the total to around 200,000 shot badgers since the cull began.  

The Wildlife Trusts believe there is still a lack of evidence that killing badgers reduces the spread of bovine TB in cattle and a report by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust last year suggested the evidence used is
flawed and inaccurate.
 
Jeff Sim Head of Nature Reserves and Species Recovery says: “Bovine TB causes real hardship to the farmers and communities effected but killing badgers is not the answer. The main cause of bovine
TB is from cattle-to-cattle transmission. Badgers are not the main culprit and it is tragic that thousands more of these wonderful mammals are going to be killed this year. Wildlife, farmers and
dairy consumers deserve better.”

Earlier this year, the Government committed to issuing no new intensive badger cull licences after 2022 and tens of thousands of people have shared their concerns and called for a more immediate
end to the cull.  

Jeff Sim continues: “Here in Staffordshire we have been vaccinating badgers for eight years and we believe this provides a more humane and effective alternative to culling.

"What the government needs to concentrate on now is implementing a badger vaccination strategy alongside the deployment of a vaccination for cattle against the disease.”