Correspondence

Bovine TB: authorisation for badger control in 2025

Licences and conditions relating to licensed actions on or around protected sites.

• From: Natural England
• Published: 11 December 2025

Applies to England

Documents

Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Berkshire and West Berkshire

PDF, 241 KB, 7 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Buckinghamshire

PDF, 233 KB, 6 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Cheshire and Merseyside

PDF, 241 KB, 7 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Cornwall

PDF, 295 KB, 12 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Cumbria

PDF, 249 KB, 8 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Derbyshire

PDF, 257 KB, 9 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Devon

PDF, 347 KB, 19 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Dorset

PDF, 385 KB, 35 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Greater Manchester

PDF, 205 KB, 3 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Hampshire

PDF, 282 KB, 13 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Northamptonshire

PDF, 213 KB, 4 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Northumbria and County Durham

PDF, 216 KB, 5 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Oxfordshire

PDF, 263 KB, 10 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Somerset

PDF, 309 KB, 18 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Staffordshire and West Midlands

PDF, 252 KB, 9 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Warwickshire

PDF, 232 KB, 6 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Wiltshire

PDF, 299 KB, 13 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Worcestershire

PDF, 281 KB, 12 pages

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Annex B: Restrictions relating to licensed actions on protected sites in Yorkshire

PDF, 206 KB, 3 pages

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Details

Natural England has not licensed any new area cull licences in 2025. It has authorised the licence holders to resume operations in 12 existing badger control areas. Licence holders met all the criteria specified in Defra’s guidance to Natural England, dated May 2021.

Natural England has reissued the Annex A for the Low Risk Area (LRA) Area 73 Cumbria due to a small change to its control area this year.

Natural England has also published the Licence Annex B for all existing licences.

Table 1: Badger control areas authorised in 2025

Area number and county	Minimum number	Maximum number	Authorisation date	Year of operations
Area 62 - Buckinghamshire	577	1006	11 September	Year 4
Area 63 - Cornwall	31	243	28 August	Year 4
Area 64 - Cornwall	81	230	28 August	Year 4
Area 65 - Derbyshire	79	478	28 August	Year 4
Area 66 - Devon	310	449	28 August	Year 4
Area 67 - Hampshire	96	347	28 August	Year 4
Area 68 - Northamptonshire	551	1339	28 August	Year 4
Area 69 - Oxfordshire	233	412	28 August	Year 4
Area 70 - Somerset	17	90	10 September	Year 4
Area 71 - Warwickshire	95	463	28 August	Year 4
Area 72 - Warwickshire	34	864	28 August	Year 4
Area 73 – Cumbria	N/A	N/A	28 August	Year 2

The licence allows authorised persons to undertake badger control within the licensed control area each year between 1 June and 31 January inclusive. 

The licence holder will decide the start date for control operations within this period. 

Natural England has confirmed to the licence holders the minimum and maximum numbers of badgers they can remove. 

Protected sites listed in the Annex Bs are not necessarily part of any active operations. These can and will only occur on protected sites where the landowner or occupier has granted permission. 

The licences only permit badger control to take place outside these closed seasons: 

• controlled shooting – 1 February to 31 May 
• cage-trapping and shooting – 1 December to 31 May

Published 11 December 2025