Somerset cull given another three weeks

After the pilot badger cull in Somerset failed to remove the target 70 per cent of the population, an extension of three weeks has been granted by Natural England.

The six-week culls form part of the government's plan to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and were carried out to find out whether or not they could be done humanely and effectively.

When the cull in Somerset officially ended on October 6, it was revealed by Owen Paterson, Defra's secretary of state, that 850 badgers had been culled - just under 60 per cent of the estimated badger population.

Having failed to reach the target of removing 70 per cent of badgers, an application for an extension was sent to Natural England.

It has now been confirmed that a new license has been issued, authorising a three week extension of the cull this autumn.

The new license authorises a minimum of 165 and a maximum of 282 badgers to be culled in the area during this period.

A pilot cull is still ongoing in west Gloucestershire, which has also applied for an extension. Natural England says this has been received and will be processed in due course.

The RSPCA recently branded the cull "farcical" after Owen Paterson claimed "the badgers have moved the goalposts" when he spoke on the BBC's spotlight programme in the West Country on October 9.

The charity's chief executive Gavin Grant said: "Frankly this whole situation is a farce. [The government] keep[s] moving the goalposts on how many badgers exist and how many need to be killed, but whatever the figures it is clear that the system has failed."

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