10 June 2026

Is the badger cull over?

The UK government’s Bovine TB Partnership Steering Group has published a report called "Bovine TB Control Strategy for England."  The report proposes a strategy with the aim of officially eradicating Bovine TB in England by 2038. 

Following evidence that demonstrates the majority of outbreaks are caused by cattle-to-cattle transmission, the new strategy places emphasis on cattle focused measures such as a cattle vaccination programme, improved biosecurity, and targeted bovine testing. 

This shift in focus is cause for celebration as previously bTB has been overwhelmingly blamed on badger populations who have subsequently suffered relentless year-on-year culling. 

International wildlife charity Born Free has welcomed this shift in strategy. Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free, said: “We are pleased to finally see the shift in emphasis towards cattle-to-cattle transmission being the main driver of bovine TB spread, and the need to focus on cattle-based measures if the disease is to be brought under control.”

However, the government report does not entirely rule out badger culling as a method of tb control in “exceptional circumstances”. Culling remaining an option for tb control is nonsensical from a report that admits most infections occur between cattle. 

There is no evidence that the badger culling program reduced the spread of bTB; starting over 10 years ago and was responsible for killing over a quarter of a million badgers.  It remains a cruel and unnecessary approach to handling the disease. 

Furthermore, the government strategy includes the expansion of badger vaccination. This has drawn criticism from Born Free. They argue that an increased implementation of badger vaccination “continues to send a message to farmers and their vets that badgers are a problem” which could in the future lead to calls for a return to culling if the vaccinations become “too logistically difficult, or too expensive”. 

Whilst the report demonstrates a shift in strategy towards cattle based measures, UK wildlife remain at risk as long as governments continue to draw connections between badgers and bTB. 

23 May 2026

Wildlife Crime in Wiltshire

Wildlife criminals don’t care about the lives they exploit.  They target the most vulnerable for entertainment, for profit, or to protect their profits.  Knowing that law enforcement remains disproportionately weak in this area can make this type of crime an easy target. For that reason, we believe it needs our attention.  So what might wildlife crime look like, and how should you respond?

Wildlife crime only happens where wildlife meets people.  For that reason, it is often hidden away in the countryside or sometimes in people’s homes.  Crimes include raptor persecution on grouse moors, hare coursing on open farmland or disturbing protected bat species for building projects.  Or, you might find the trade of legally protected species online.

I recently stumbled across a wildlife crime when out walking.  Ten minutes of prolonged shooting within the ‘close’ season.  Roughly 200 shots were fired by approximately 5 people.  Then nothing.  The people shooting were standing in a wheat field in front of a small copse of trees.  While they weren’t close enough to decipher faces or what they were shooting, some informed guesses could be made.

To be firing that many shots, the animals being targeted would have to exist in some profusion.  With 47 million pheasants released annually (N. J. Aebischer, 2019), they are the most likely species.  Every close season, a proportion of pheasants survive to breed in the wild.

The ‘close’ season is when it is illegal to shoot animals because they are breeding.  Killing a parent means the death of their offspring.  Creating a ‘close’ season is the government’s nod to the damage shooting has on future generations and animal wellbeing.  The majority of ‘close’ seasons for birds are listed under Schedule 2.1 of the Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981.

With a 10-minute crime window, this made arrest highly improbable and the crime infallible.  By the time I had left the woodlands I was in, found the crime scene and worked out its location for the police, the men, their guns and the tractor that accompanied them were moving on.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you can phone 999 if a wildlife crime is happening and 101 for crimes that are about to happen, or have just happened.  The 101 call system is a bit sluggish, but they do have a call-back facility.

Update to follow.