130,000 badgers now at risk of being shot
DERBYSHIRE Wildlife
Trust has expressed its disappointment at Government plans to continue to issue licenses to kill badgers over the next four years.
The trust says this will put a further 130,000 animals at risk of being shot as pressure continues to find ways to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
A public consultation was held earlier this year, supported by wildlife trusts, responded to by more than 39,000 people. And 36,958 of those went on to email their MP urging the Government to stop issuing badger cull licenses immediately.
Dr Jo Smith, CEO of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “The Government has failed to listen to the public who want to see an immediate end to the badger cull.
“If a further 130,000 animals are killed within the next five years, we could lose 60% of England’s badgers.
“This is desperately sad and will also have repercussions on the health of natural habitats because badgers are a keystone species, vital to a thriving ecosystem.
“We are extremely disappointed by this decision. Only last week, the Secretary of State, George Eustice, announced measures to protect and restore nature.
“Killing such a major part of the badger population in this country cannot be compatible with that ambition.”
New licenses will be granted in 2021 and 2022 and as licenses last for four years, this means that badgers will continue to be shot until
2026.
By the end of the cull, 300,000 badgers out of an estimated population of 485,000 may have been culled.