Badger Cull Extension

The badger cull, to help control the spread of bovine TB, has been extended to areas in Cornwall, Devon and Herefordshire.  Natural England has authorised seven new licences to companies in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.  These are in addition to existing licences in Gloucestershire and Somerset who are now in their fourth year and Dorset which is entering into its second year.

Four year licences are given to allow culling to take place annually between1^st June and 31^st January.  Natural England sets the minimum and maximum number of badgers which should be culled under each licence.  Since the start of the cull in 2013, 3,961 badgers have been culled; over the same time period 112,580 cattle have been destroyed due to bovine TB.

In addition, DEFRA has also opened a consultation on proposals to introduce enhanced bovine TB surveillance and control measures for cattle in the High Risk Areas (HRAs) and also the Edge Areas (EAs) of England.  These would see the use of the more sensitive blood test alongside the skin test in the HRAs and redefining the Edge Area boundaries.  Views are also sought on the introduction of powers to enforce herd biosecurity measures and also to restrict slaughter-only (red markets) to HRAs or EAs only.  The consultation closes on 8^th November and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bovine-tb-controls-in-the-high-risk-and-edge-areas-of-england

Other measures being introduced include:

• New farm advice packs to help affected farmers improve their on-farm biosecurity measures
• An updated online mapping tool showing the location of TB incidents over the last five years so farmers can take this into account when purchasing cattle.