Policy paper

Summary of 2021 badger control operations

Published 30 March 2022

Applies to England

Natural England Chief Scientist’s advice on the outcome of badger control operations, 2021

Effectiveness of industry-led culling

In 2021, alongside the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), I have continued to provide oversight and advice on the effectiveness, safety and humaneness of the operations for existing intensive cull areas (Areas 22 to 61). Our advice for Areas 1 to 21, which are currently undertaking licensed Supplementary Badger Control, will be released separately.

The outcome of this year’s operations indicates that industry-led licensed badger control continues to deliver the level of effectiveness required by the policy to be confident of achieving disease control benefits:

• New areas licensed in 2021 (Areas 55 to 61) effectively applied lessons learned from badger control operations in previous years to make a successful start to their operations. All 7 areas applied an appropriate level of targeted effort across their respective areas to achieve their minimum number where appropriate.
• All 33 areas in their 2nd to 4th years (Areas 22 to 54) applied an appropriate level of targeted effort to maintain the population at a reduced level.
• Areas were set a minimum number of badgers to be removed by Day 42 of their cull. These numbers were adjusted after Day 28 of operations to reflect activity (both badger and contractor) on the ground. Where factors such as late maize harvest or poor weather conditions hampered coverage of some land parcels, Areas expressed a desire to continue beyond 42 days to maximise disease control benefits. To reflect this continuation, the minimum number of badgers to be removed from these areas was increased. One area (Area 55 - Shropshire) achieved their minimum number at Day 34 but finished marginally below their uplifted minimum number. Nevertheless, they deployed the required level of effort and coverage and so delivered an effective cull.

As in previous years, minimum and maximum numbers were updated once badger control operations were underway which allows initial estimates of badger abundance to be refined by actual circumstances observed in the field. This continues to be a valuable step to complement the pre-operational use of sett surveys which also provide field evidence of the size of the badger population.

Safety of operations

Operations across all areas were carried out to agreed standards of public safety, which is a reflection of quality of training that contractors received and the assessments they had to pass. No significant incidents affecting public safety were reported in relation to the use of firearms.

Humaneness of controlled shooting

Contractors continued to show high levels of discipline and compliance with the Best Practice Guide (see Annex B). The level of accuracy of controlled shooting compares favourably with previous years and with other wildlife control activities.

Dr Tim Hill
Chief Scientist, Natural England

UK Chief Veterinary Officer’s advice and conclusions on disease control benefits

In 2021, I continued to provide oversight and advice on disease control and humaneness of the operations for existing intensive cull areas (Areas 22 to 61). My advice for Areas 1 to 21, which are currently undertaking licensed Supplementary Badger Control, will be released separately.

Natural England’s Chief Scientist and I have concluded that all areas delivered sufficient levels of coverage and effort required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits, including Areas 55 to 61 which began culling in 2021. One first year area (Area 55 – Shropshire) achieved their original minimum number of badgers to be removed on day 34 but finished operations marginally below their uplifted minimum number. As this area deployed sufficient effort and coverage, we concluded that the area had completed a successful cull.

Areas 22 to 31 concluded their fourth year of culling operations and will be eligible to apply for a two-year Supplementary Badger Control licence in 2022. For the remaining intensive cull areas to maximise disease control benefits they should continue culling for the remainder of their licenced period to maintain the level of reduction in the badger population. Areas 33 to 53 should continue culling for the remainder of their four-year intensive cull licences. Licences for Areas 55 to 61 should continue for at least another year. I anticipate that intensive culls, if they continue to be effective, will continue to see similar benefits of reduced disease incidence in cattle over their licence periods, as shown in Downs et al. (2019)^{[footnote 1]}.

Based on the monitoring activity provided by Natural England, my view remains that the likelihood of suffering in badgers culled by controlled shooting is broadly within the range of those reported for hunting or killing of other terrestrial mammals.

In line with previous years, I continued to be responsible for monitoring the operations in the two Low Risk Area of England (LRA) badger control areas. This is in line with the aim of badger control in the LRA being eradication of disease.

In Area 32-Cumbria, a reduction in overall apparent prevalence in M. bovis positive badger carcases was observed between 2018 and 2020^{[footnote 2]}. This gives a positive indication that the area is continuing to move towards our goal of disease eradication in both cattle and badgers. Although no positive badgers were found in the central “Minimum Infected Area” in 2020, I recommended that culling should take place there for a fourth year. However, the outer area and extension (established in 2019) had no identified badger infection for two years. In recognition of this, I recommended that these areas carried out vaccination rather than culling in 2021.

In 2021, Area 32 applied an appropriate level of targeted effort and sett coverage across the cull area and so is considered to have achieved a successful fourth year of culling.

In Area 54-Lincolnshire, based on the results of surveillance carried out in 2020^{[footnote 3]}, I recommended that culling should take place for a second year. As there was evidence of infection within the Area boundary and along the eastern boundary, I advised extending the intervention area eastwards. In 2021, Area 54 applied an appropriate level of targeted effort and sett coverage across the extended 2021 cull area and so are considered to have achieved a successful second year of culling.

In line with our LRA badger control policy, badger carcases removed from Area 32 and Area 54 underwent post-mortem examination (PME) and sampling for culture to isolate M. bovis. These results are published today^{[footnote 4]} and, alongside cattle surveillance and whole genome sequencing, will be assessed to inform the type of badger disease control carried out in subsequent years in each of the two LRA areas.

Christine Middlemiss
UK Chief Veterinary Officer

Background

On 7 September 2021, Defra announced^{[footnote 5]} that as part of the Government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis and protect the livelihoods of dairy and beef farmers, Natural England had licensed and authorised Badger Disease Control operations across 40 areas in Avon, Berkshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire.

Badger control operations, lasting at least six weeks, took place in each area between 31 August and 2 November 2021. This document sets out the outcomes from those areas.

Effectiveness

Estimates of the badger population in each control area were supplied by Defra for the purpose of giving advice to Natural England on setting the minimum and maximum number of badgers to be removed in the licences. The estimates, methodologies and rationale used were published in September 2021^{[footnote 6]}.

As in previous years, Natural England monitored the progress in each control area closely. The levels of contractor shooting effort, number of cage-traps set and number of badgers removed were recorded on a daily basis in all accessible land parcels. This provided Natural England with regular information on the numbers of badgers removed, the amount of effort deployed by each control company and its spatial distribution. This enabled a detailed assessment of the progress that each control company was making towards achieving their minimum and maximum numbers (where appropriate) and allowed Natural England to assess whether resources were being effectively deployed across all accessible land.

Updating minimum and maximum numbers

As set out in Section D of Defra’s advice to Natural England, numbers were reviewed as operations progressed to assess whether the badger population in each control area was higher or lower than the initial estimate suggested. Based on an assessment of the data on Day 28 in 38 control areas^{[footnote 7]}, Defra advised Natural England to adjust the minimum and maximum numbers upwards in 4 control areas and downwards in the other 34 control areas to better reflect the evidence of badger abundance. Details of the calculations can be found in Annex A1.

Progress towards minimum and maximum numbers

In 2021, 37 control areas achieved their minimum number and did not exceed their maximum number. Area 55- Shropshire achieved its updated Day 42 minimum number by day 34 (see Annex A1), however it was agreed that the area could continue beyond 42 days. This was to ensure coverage of parcels that were yet to be accessed in order to maximise disease control benefits. Like other areas that continued beyond 42 days, they consequently received an additional increase of 1.5% per additional operational day and ceased marginally below this number, see Table 1.

Table 1: Number of badgers removed by Areas 22 to 61 during 2021 badger control operations.

Area	Updated minimum number	Updated maximum number	Badgers removed	Removed by controlled shooting	Removed by cage-trapping
Area 22 – Cornwall*	699	949	723	588	135
Area 23 – Devon*	478	650	648	525	123
Area 24 – Devon*	130	177	175	132	43
Area 25 – Devon*	114	155	138	113	25
Area 26 – Devon*	180	244	244	225	19
Area 27 – Devon*	78	106	97	81	16
Area 28 – Devon	75	102	90	42	48
Area 29 – Gloucestershire*	525	714	628	456	172
Area 30 – Somerset*	663	901	706	654	52
Area 31 – Staffordshire*	955	1295	1133	1061	72
Area 32 – Cumbria	N/A	N/A	62	49	13
Area 33 – Avon	407	552	535	440	95
Area 34 – Cheshire*	886	1202	1043	914	129
Area 35 – Cornwall*	940	1277	1041	801	240
Area 36 – Staffordshire*	367	497	459	445	14
Area 37 – Devon*	403	547	518	438	80
Area 38 – Devon*	859	1165	942	824	118
Area 39 – Dorset*	208	283	235	168	67
Area 40 – Herefordshire*	854	1158	911	827	84
Area 41 – Staffordshire	381	518	437	374	63
Area 42 – Wiltshire*	1123	1523	1359	1235	124
Area 43 – Wiltshire*	737	1001	806	765	41
Area 44 – Avon*	1156	1569	1560	1523	37
Area 45 – Derbyshire	1144	1552	1432	1284	148
Area 46 – Gloucestershire*	192	261	240	228	12
Area 47 – Herefordshire*	1040	1412	1091	946	145
Area 48 – Leicestershire	304	413	371	326	45
Area 49 – Oxfordshire	482	654	544	462	82
Area 50 – Shropshire*	2451	3328	2752	2362	390
Area 51 – Somerset*	1344	1823	1588	1414	174
Area 52 – Warwickshire	869	1180	1121	1047	74
Area 53 – Wiltshire*	257	359	278	231	47
Area 54 – Lincolnshire	N/A	N/A	161	161	0
Area 55 – Shropshire*	195	265	189	174	15
Area 56 – Hampshire*	543	737	578	504	74
Area 57 – Berkshire*	141	192	176	137	39
Area 58 – Staffordshire	686	931	802	727	75
Area 59 – Worcestershire*	535	726	541	517	24
Area 60 – Shropshire*	1330	1804	1375	1128	247
Area 61 – Oxfordshire*	583	791	710	537	173

Minimum and maximum numbers for areas* include an additional increase of 1.5% per operational day given continuation in those areas beyond 42 days, see Annex A1.

More data on these areas can be found in Annex A2. Natural England will use the data on effort levels and numbers of badgers removed to inform its requirements for future badger control operations.

Accuracy of controlled shooting

Shooting accuracy was used as a proxy measure for ‘humaneness’ and was assessed using observations from Natural England Monitors of badgers being shot at under controlled shooting conditions.

Summary of controlled shooting observations

Monitors observed 86 badgers being shot at using controlled shooting, of which 3 were categorised as missed and not retrieved. In such cases, the use of firearms carries an element of risk with regard to the wounding of individual animals. While the contractor has control over the condition of the firearm, ammunition used, zeroing of the rifle and shooting technique, once the trigger is released, external parameters outside of the contractor’s control come into play. A missed shot can result for a number of reasons, with movement of the target species simultaneously with trigger release being the most common.

The non-retrieval rate observed in 2021 of 3.5% (95% confidence interval 1.0%–9.0%^{[footnote 8]}), was lower than that observed during operations in the last eight years.

As with 2016 to 2020, post-mortem examination of badgers removed by controlled shooting would only have been carried out by exception in Areas 22 to 61. This year none were requested.

More details on compliance monitoring conducted during badger control operations can be found in Annex B.

Safety of operations

Operations in all 40 control areas were carried out to a high standard of public safety. All existing badger control companies’ contractors continued to receive training prior to the commencement of operations in 2021, on the requirements of the published Best Practice Guides^{[footnote 9]}, lessons learned and safety training.

In relation to the use of firearms in all 40 control areas, no significant incidents affecting public safety were reported. Contractors continued to show high levels of discipline and adherence to the Best Practice Guides, see Annex B.

Conclusions

The results from 2021 indicate that all 40 badger control companies have delivered the level of badger removal required to be confident of disease control benefits and that the operations were carried out to a high standard of public safety.

The levels of controlled shooting accuracy achieved in this year’s operations were similar to those in the previous eight years. The likelihood of suffering in badgers is comparable with the range of outcomes reported when other control activities, currently accepted by society, have been assessed. Licensed control companies will need to continue to ensure that their contractors receive rigorous training to maintain high standards of effectiveness, humaneness and safety.

1. Downs et al. (2019) Assessing effects from four years of industry-led badger culling in England on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle, 2013 – 2017. Scientific Reports. 9. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49957-6 ↩

2. Defra (2021) Setting the minimum and maximum numbers in badger cull areas in 2021: Advice to Natural England. Annex B: Summary of Area 32-Cumbria https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1015421/tb-min-max-numbers-2021.pdf ↩

3. Defra (2021) Setting the minimum and maximum numbers in badger cull areas in 2021: Advice to Natural England. Annex C: Summary of Area 54-Lincolnshire https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1015421/tb-min-max-numbers-2021.pdf ↩

4. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-surveillance-in-wildlife-in-england ↩

5. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-authorisation-for-badger-control-in-2021 ↩

6. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-to-natural-england-on-setting-minimum-and-maximum-numbers-of-badgers-to-be-controlled-in-2021 ↩

7. The remaining areas (Area 32 – Cumbria and Area 54 – Lincolnshire) did not receive minimum and maximum numbers as these are of less utility in the Low Risk Area given the aim of preventing disease spreading within wildlife and aiding eradication of disease. ↩

8. Estimates of confidence intervals for proportions were produced using a “Modified Jeffries interval” (Brown and others, 2001). ↩

9. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/986674/controlled-shooting-of-free-ranging-badgers.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987005/cage-trapping-dispatch-of-badgers.pdf ↩