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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Summary of badger control monitoring during 2014 published by her Department on 18 December 2014, on what scientific evidence and advice the Chief Veterinary Officer based his conclusion that the pilot badger culls in Somerset show that culling can deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.

The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) reviewed all of the effectiveness and humaneness data available from the second year of the badger culls, which were published on 18 December 2014. The level of badger removal in Somerset was assessed against the minimum number to be removed, which was published along with the methodology on 26 August 2014. The CVO also reviewed the level of effort deployed by the cull company and concluded that the cull had been implemented thoroughly across the full area of accessible land.