Badger culling in the United Kingdom

Badger culling in the United Kingdom is being trialled as a way to reduce badger numbers in a set area, in the hope of controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Humans can catch bTB, but public health control measures, including milk pasteurisation and the BCG vaccine, mean it is not a significant risk to human health. The disease affects cattle and other farm animals (including pigs, goats, deer, sheep, alpacas and llamas), and some species of wildlife including badgers, deer and a few domestic pets. Geographically, bTB has spread from isolated pockets in the late 1980s to cover large areas of the west and south-west of England and Wales in the 2010s. Some people believe this correlates with the lack of badger control.

Badger culling in the United Kingdom

Badger culling in the United Kingdom is being trialled as a way to reduce badger numbers in a set area, in the hope of controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Humans can catch bTB, but public health control measures, including milk pasteurisation and the BCG vaccine, mean it is not a significant risk to human health. The disease affects cattle and other farm animals (including pigs, goats, deer, sheep, alpacas and llamas), and some species of wildlife including badgers, deer and a few domestic pets. Geographically, bTB has spread from isolated pockets in the late 1980s to cover large areas of the west and south-west of England and Wales in the 2010s. Some people believe this correlates with the lack of badger control.