Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to issue further licenses for badger culling.

We are transitioning away from intensive badger culling towards widescale badger vaccination. 2022 was the last year that new Intensive Cull areas were licensed. Supplementary Badger Culling (SBC) is limited to a maximum of two years and the issuing of SBC licences for previously licensed areas or areas licensed for Badger Disease Control after 2020 is prohibited.

However, culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.