Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he will take to (a) make epidemiological assessments and (b) measure bTB levels before the Government decides culling permits for new badger culls; and what levels of disease will be reached before decisions on permits are made.
As set out in the Government response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s review of the bTB strategy[1] [2], the next step of the strategy involves phasing out badger culling to focus on the wider rollout of badger vaccination. In the Government’s response to the January 2021 consultation[3], we stated that no new intensive cull licences will be issued after 2022 and new supplementary badger culling licences have been limited to a maximum of two years.
However, culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed. We are still developing the policy to licence badger culling under these exceptional circumstances. Once developed, we intend to consult on the Government’s proposals.