Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BADGER ‘TORTURE’
Undercover film of cull shows animal’s slow, painful death
A CAGED badger writhes in agony after being shot as part of a cull.
Covert footage filmed by animal welfare campaigners shows a man firing his rifle at the badger at point-blank range.
But he does not follow up with a second shot to put it out of its misery.
It continues moving, appearing to be in enormous pain, for up to a minute before it finally falls still.
Cambridge University animal welfare expert Professor Donald Broom said: “It is likely the badger was conscious and suffering. Depending on where the bullet goes, it may take seconds, minutes, hours or days to die.”
The hidden camera footage by the Hunt Investigation Team Cumbria is said to be the first of cull contractors.
The RSPCA claimed it shows culling guidelines were not followed.
London veterinary director Caroline Allen said: “The shooter must check that the badger is dead and follow up with a second shot as soon as possible.”
Badger culling began in 2013 aiming to halt the spread of bovine tuberculosis, with 35,000 animals killed since.
Culls have been approved in 11 new areas, meaning 40,000 more will die.
Badger Trust chief executive Dominic Dyer called it a “war on wildlife”.
The Environment department said contractors were trained and monitored.