Badgers
Badger culling
The culling of badgers is used as a measure to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB).
Lancashire Wildlife Trust opposes the badger-culling programme because our charity is committed to protecting wildlife and makes decisions on conservation land management based on the best available scientific information. The scientific evidence demonstrates that culling is likely to be ineffective in fighting the disease and, worse still, risks making the problem even worse.
We recognise the devastating impact that bovine TB has on farmers and rural communities, and Lancashire’s farmers are crucial allies in our work to conserve a wide range of threatened habitats and species, from ponds to wildflower meadows and from brown hares to purple ramping-fumitory.
All Wildlife Trusts are firmly opposed to the badger cull.
Find out more about the issues surrounding badgers and bovine TB
Andrew Parkinson/2020VISION
Nature matters
Contact your MP. Let them know you value nature and badgers and ask them to #StopTheCull
You can also join us on X at @LancsWildlife to spread the word about #StopTheCull
Our views and solutions
We believe that the problem is bovine TB (not badgers) and the challenge is to control the disease. We suggest tackling the disease should therefore include the following measures:
Cattle vaccination
We believe that cattle vaccination offers the best long term solution to bovine TB. A potential BCG vaccine is being developed which has been shown to reduce the severity of the disease. However, further research and testing is required before this could be widely used. We are calling for this research to be supported and accelerated.
Biosecurity
Cow-to-cow infections are the major cause of bovine TB, especially during cattle movement. Tightening the movement controls of cattle and undertaking all possible measures to improve biosecurity on farms could help to reduce this threat. Also implementing simple badger exclusion measures on farms can be effective in reducing transmission rates. Best practice videos and leaflets are available from Defra.
Badger vaccination
Vaccinating badgers against bovine TB using the BCG vaccine will help to reduce the prevalence of the infection within the badger population. Vaccinated badgers will not be able to catch the infection, and over time any infected badgers will naturally die off. Clinical trials have shown a significant reduction the risk of vaccinated badgers testing positive. You can read a review of the evidence here.
You can find more information on the Wildlife Trusts’ position on the badger cull, and the solutions we offer below:
