Bovine TB: authorisation for supplementary badger control in 2022
Licences and conditions relating to licensed actions on or around protected sites.
Applies to England
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Natural England has licensed and authorised 10 new supplementary badger control areas to begin operations in 2022. It has also authorised the licence holders to resume operations in 19 existing supplementary badger control areas in 2022. Licence holders met all the criteria specified in Defra’s guidance to Natural England, dated May 2021.
Table 1: Supplementary control areas authorised in 2022
1 June is the earliest possible date for the start of operations and is the start of the open season.
| Area number and county | Minimum number | Maximum number | Authorisation date | Year of operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area 3 - Dorset | 163 | 383 | 16 May 2022 | Year 4 |
| Area 4 - Cornwall | 131 | 380 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 5 - Cornwall | 152 | 461 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 6 - Devon | 294 | 1173 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 7 - Devon | 145 | 455 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 8 - Dorset | 475 | 1685 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 9 - Gloucestershire | 219 | 1118 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 10 - Herefordshire | 90 | 359 | 16 May 2022 | Year 3 |
| Area 11 – Cheshire | 122 | 408 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 12 - Devon | 194 | 1155 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 13 - Devon | 180 | 711 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 14 - Devon | 85 | 425 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 15 - Devon | 157 | 393 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 16 - Dorset | 427 | 2057 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 17 - Somerset | 86 | 723 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 18 - Somerset | 50 | 302 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 19 - Wiltshire | 284 | 1238 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 20 - Wiltshire | 154 | 595 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 21 - Wiltshire | 122 | 763 | 16 May 2022 | Year 2 |
| Area 22 – Cornwall | 448 | 1948 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 23 – Devon | 146 | 1465 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 24 – Devon | 114 | 421 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 25 - Devon | 39 | 534 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 26 - Devon | 55 | 569 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 27 - Devon | 36 | 154 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 28 - Devon | 36 | 302 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 29 - Gloucestershire | 172 | 878 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 30 - Somerset | 230 | 1795 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
| Area 31 - Staffordshire | 373 | 2492 | 16 May 2022 | Year 1 |
The licence holder will decide the start date for control operations within this period. Licence holders carry out operations under a licence which allows badger control to take place in the licensed control area every year between 1 June and 31 January inclusive.
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