14/01/2014

Police Chiefs Reveal Cost Of Badger Cull

It cost almost £1,400 per badger to police the pilot cull scheme, according to a report by the BBC.

It is understood that tweets posted by police and crime commissioner (PCC) Martin Surl revealed that the cull had cost "around £1.7m" in Gloucestershire and Avon and Somerset chief constable Nick Gargan is reported to have said it cost his force £738,985.

A total of 921 badgers were killed in Gloucestershire and 850 in Somerset, totalling 1,771 badgers.

The pilot cull scheme was launched with a target of eradicating 70% of the badger population. It was hoping to test how effective, humane and safe such a cull could be. It was claimed that culling the badgers was the best way to stop the spread of bovine TB.

The pilot scheme was stopped early due to the low number of animals culled.

(MH/IT)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

09 September 2014
Year Two of Badger Cull Underway
The second year of a badger cull is now underway in Gloucestershire and Somerset. Almost 1,000 badgers are to be killed in the second year of the cull, which started last year in an effort to stop the spread of bovine TB. Some 1,800 badgers were culled in 2013.
02 December 2013
Gloucestershire Badger Cull Fails To Meet Target
The pilot cull of badgers in West Gloucestershire has not met the 70% target set out by the government. Official figures have revealed that in the additional five weeks and three days of culling allowed, only 213 badgers were killed, bringing the total number to 921. Only 40% were culled during the operation, which ended on Saturday 30 November.
05 November 2013
Badger Cull In Somerset Ends
The pilot badger cull in Somerset ended on Friday 1 November. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson updated Parliamenton the results of the cull following the conclusion of the three week licence extension granted by Natural England.
01 March 2005
Badger cull considered in plans to tackle bovine TB
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has warned that badgers could be culled in order to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Defra stressed that scientific, as well as other evidence, was "vital" to solving the problem.
15 December 2011
Opposition Fails To Halt Huge Badger Cull
A major cull of Britain's badgers is to go ahead despite calls from animal campaigners for the plan to be scrapped. On Wednesday, Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, approved culls in two trial areas in an attempt to control bovine TB.