Badger Cull Authorised August 26, 2014 12:00 am Natural England (NE) has confirmed that all the ‘criteria’ have been met to allow a second year of badger culling in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset as part of the measures to combat the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Authorisation letters have been sent out to licensees. The exact start dates for the culls will be decided by the companies who are licensed to carry out them out. The letters contain a minimum and maximum number of badgers to be removed: Gloucestershire – minimum 615; maximum 1,091 Somerset – minimum 316; maximum 785 These numbers will be kept under review. The Independent Expert Report highlighted the problems in obtaining accurate estimates of badger populations during the previous cull and they may have to be updated if new evidence comes to light. The Independent Expert Report also mentioned the problems with the length of time it was taking some badgers to die after being shot. A Government approved training programme has been put in place to improve shooting accuracy. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency will carry out post-mortem examinations on at least 60 badgers from each site to check the accuracy of the shooting.
