Statutory guidance

Licence to cage-trap badgers for bovine TB vaccination (CL48)

Updated 1 May 2025

Applies to England

Date of issue: 1 May 2025
Valid until: 30 November 2028
Reference: WML-CL48

This licence permits the use of cage traps to capture badgers (Meles meles) so they can be vaccinated against bovine tuberculosis (TB). This is for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease.

It also permits the use of artificial light, if required.

Before your register

You must complete the Bovine TB: Badger vaccination training or equivalent.

Registering to use this licence

Complete the form to register as an authorised person to get a licence to cage-trap badgers.

What happens after you register

Defra will review your registration form to check you are eligible for this licence.

Natural England will also review your registration if you need the Licence to mark cage-trapped badgers to enable the identification of individuals administered with a badger BCG vaccine (CL49).

It usually takes around 2 working days to hear back.

If successful, you’ll receive an email confirming your registration for this licence and CL49, if required. 

You cannot use either of these licences until you’ve received this confirmation.

After you’re registered, you’ll be added to a list of registered licence holders and to the TrAPP reporting app. Your email confirmation will include instructions on how to download and use the app. 

You must ensure your contact details are up to date. This is a condition of your licence. 

If your contact details change after you’ve registered, you must send your new contact details by email to badger.vaccination@defra.gov.uk. Failure to do so may result in your licence being withdrawn.

Where you can use this licence

This licence is valid in England, landward of the mean high-water mark (mark that shows the highest level that the sea or river reaches at a particular place).

When you can use this licence

This licence is valid from 1 May 2025 to 30 November 2028. However, this licence can only be used during each year’s open season. This runs from 1 May to 30 November each year.

Who cannot use this licence

You cannot use this licence if you have been convicted of a wildlife offence on or after 1 January 2010, unless one or both of the following applies:

• you have served your conviction and are a rehabilitated person under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
• a court has made an order discharging you of the wildlife offence

You cannot use this licence if the Secretary of State has withdrawn your permission to use it.

Breaching the conditions of this licence

If you do not follow this licence’s conditions, you may:

• have your licence withdrawn
• be committing an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992
• if convicted, be sent to prison or given an unlimited fine, or both 
• be unable to rely on this licence as a defence related to the prohibitions in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 or the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996

The Secretary of State will notify you in writing if your authorisation to use this licence is withdrawn. This may affect your ability to use any other wildlife management licences you may have.

Licence conditions

This licence only permits you to use cage traps to capture badgers so they can be vaccinated against bovine TB to prevent the spread of disease and for no other purpose.

You must meet all the licence conditions relevant to your activities.

You must also follow the Additional conditions for CL48 and CL49: to protect land, species and habitats when cage-trapping or marking badgers, if they are relevant to where you want to use this licence.

You must ensure your contact details are kept up to date. 

The ‘Advice’ sections of this licence contain guidance that does not constitute legal conditions of the licence. You should still follow the guidance in these sections as closely as possible.

You should refer to the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’ for further advice.

Condition 1: protecting animal welfare

You must not cause unnecessary suffering to badgers when using this licence.

You must not set traps to catch when weather conditions are, or are likely to be, extreme. For example, in strong wind, heavy or prolonged rain, or very low or high temperatures.

Where possible, you must place traps in areas that have natural cover to: 

• shelter animals from the weather  
• reduce the risk of the public finding them 

Before you set traps, you must have a vet available on call to respond to an emergency.

Advice: how to protect animal welfare

You should refer to the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’ for further advice. 

When carrying out the authorised activities under this licence, you must follow all relevant legislation. For further information, read the Animal Welfare Act 2006: what it means for wildlife.

Condition 2: trapping in the open season

You can only set traps under this licence during the open season. This runs from 1 May to 30 November each year.

After the open season ends, you must keep any traps left outside fixed open or closed so they cannot accidentally capture an animal. You must remove any bait from the trap.

Advice 

See ‘When to cage-trap badgers’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 3: accessing land

You must get permission from the relevant landowner to access land you want to place traps on. 

Advice 

See ‘Getting access to land’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 4: placing traps

You must not place traps:

• in areas at risk of flooding
• along fence lines where barbed wire could injure animals in the trap
• where they could block access to badger sett entrances or tunnels

If traps are on a slope, make sure they are stable and cannot roll over if a trapped animal moves around inside.

Advice 

See ‘Placing traps’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 5: recording and reporting your activity

You must keep accurate and sharable records of where you set your traps. This is so another person can easily find your traps in case you are unable to check them yourself.

You must report all activity you’ve taken under this licence to Defra. This includes:

• setting cage traps to catch
• vaccinating badgers
• releasing animals caught in your traps
• adverse reactions to the vaccine
• getting advice from a vet

Defra will share this information with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Natural England.

Information on how to record and report your activity will be provided in your registration confirmation email.

Advice 

See ‘Keeping records’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 6: cage trap specifications

To capture live badgers humanely, your cage traps must be certified and suitable for use in England.

If your trap was made on or after 28 March 2019, it must have a permanent mark from the manufacturer that shows its type and make are certified.

You may only use traps that:

• are at least 1 metre long
• are at least 35cm wide and 35cm high
• are constructed from 5cm square 8-gauge mesh
• have a string-activated door
• have no sharp edges or other damaged parts that could injure animals

Advice 

See ‘Placing traps’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 7: using an approved triggering mechanism

To reduce the risk of injury to badgers, you must only use approved triggering mechanisms. These are:

• twine wire and stone trigger mechanism
• twine triangle trigger mechanism

You must only use approved materials for the trigger mechanism. These are:

• 2 or 3 ply untainted natural jute garden twine
• 2mm diameter plastic coated wire 
• stone large enough to cover bait 

In any part of the trap, you must not use:

• polypropylene garden or baler twine
• parachute cord
• fishing lines
• electric fence wire

Advice 

See ‘Setting traps to catch’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 8: checking cage traps

You must check if your trap has captured an animal the morning after you set the trap to catch. Unless you need to get help from a vet, you must release the animal as soon as possible after dawn and before:

• 9:30am in May to August
• 10:30am in September
• 11:30am in October and November

Advice 

See ‘Checking traps for badgers’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 9: vaccinating badgers

You may only vaccinate badgers captured under this licence, and mark them under licence CL49, if you have also completed an approved vaccination training course.

A qualified vet can vaccinate and release badgers without needing to register under this licence if someone who is registered under this licence is present. A vet can only mark the badger if they hold a CL49 marking licence. 

A badger can only be vaccinated if:

• there’s no evidence that it’s been vaccinated previously in the same open season
• it’s been assessed as being fit to vaccinate by the person giving the vaccine, using the objective welfare assessment outlined in the guidance

You must check for any suspected adverse reaction to the vaccine. You must immediately contact your directing or attending vet if a badger: 

• collapses 
• convulses  
• cannot move  
• develops immediate large swelling around the neck or face 
• is injured during the vaccination process 

You must report any suspected adverse reactions to the vaccine as explained in condition 5: recording and reporting your activity. 

Advice  

See ‘Vaccinating badgers’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 10: marking badgers

After vaccinating the badger, you must ensure that someone registered under licence CL49 temporarily marks it with a fur clip and stock marker, in accordance with the conditions of licence CL49.

Advice 

See ‘Marking badgers’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 11: releasing badgers

You must release the badger at the location where it was captured after you’ve vaccinated and marked it and confirmed it’s fit for release.

You must get help from your directing or attending vet if you have any doubt about whether a badger is fit for release.

If you’ve caught a badger that is already marked, you still need to assess if it’s fit to release before returning it to the point of capture.

If a marked badger is recaptured, you must not set traps to catch again at that location, unless it is the first morning of trapping, in which case you must discuss with your directing or prescribing vet to determine the best course of action. 

Advice 

See ‘Releasing badgers’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 12: releasing non-target animals

You must release any captured non-target animals as soon as possible, at the place of capture, unless they either: 

• cannot be legally released 
• are injured 

If you trap non-target animals, what you should do depends on if they are: 

• domesticated 
• wild 
• wild and require a separate licence to be handled 

Animals that must not be released without a licence 

You must not release any animal that is not normally resident in, or a regular visitor to, Great Britain (such as a raccoon or coati). 

If you catch a species listed in Schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, you must follow the rules for Part 1, Part 1A and Part 1B species. 

For Part 1 species, such as Canada geese and ring-necked parakeets, you must either: 

• kill the animal quickly and humanely
• have a licence to release it 

For Part 1A species, such as barn owls, red kite and goshawk, you must release it as soon as you discover it, following the conditions of licence GL22. 

For Part 1B species, such as wild boar, you must either: 

• release the animal as soon as you discover it, at the point of capture - following the conditions of licence GL22 
• kill the animal quickly and humanely 
• keep the animal in captivity
• have a licence to release it at another location 

If you catch a species listed as an invasive non-native (alien) animal you must not release it. You must quickly and humanely kill it, or give it to a premises licensed to keep it. For a list of licensed premises contact Natural England: invasive-alien-species-licence@naturalengland.org.uk 

Advice 

See ‘Releasing other trapped animals’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 13: cleaning and disinfecting equipment

You must clean and disinfect traps at the end of the process before they are used at the next vaccination site or farm.  

Traps must be disinfected using either a:  

• Defra approved TB disinfectant   
• hot water pressure washer with a water temperature of 100°C  

Advice 

See ‘Cleaning and disinfecting equipment’ in the guidance ‘How to cage-trap and mark badgers to enable vaccination to prevent the spread of bovine TB’.

Condition 14: site visits for compliance monitoring  

Licence users may be selected for compliance monitoring to check licence users are following this licence’s terms and conditions. 

If you’re asked to contact the relevant compliance authority, such as Defra or a body it has appointed for the purpose of checking compliance with licence conditions, you must: 

• allow the compliance authority to monitor your activity 
• assist the compliance authority in arranging site visits 
• give the compliance authority reasonable notice of when you plan to start setting traps under this licence (minimum of 10 days)

Legislation

You must follow all relevant legislation when carrying out authorised activities under this licence.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has issued this licence under the power in section 10(2)(a) of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and section 16(3)(g) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This licence complies with Article 9(1) of the Bern Convention.

Natural England has advised the Secretary of State and Defra on how this licence should be granted.

The Secretary of State may change or revoke this licence at any time.

Get help

For enquiries about this licence email us at badger.vaccination@defra.gov.uk.

For all other enquiries contact Defra by:

• telephone on 03459 33 55 77
• email at defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)