Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Why Plaid should not repeat their badger cull policy
An article by Billie-Jade Thomas, the Senior Public Affairs Manager for the RSPCA, on the Institute for Welsh Affairs site reports that while it is still very much early days for the new Plaid Cymru minority government and the expanded Senedd, tackling Bovine TB (bTB) has already been raised in Plenary on several occasions, by parties for and against badger culling.
She says that the RSPCA has identified the potential introduction of a badger cull as one of the biggest threats to animals in Wales in the coming years, with Plaid Cymru having included references to ‘wildlife control’ in dealing with bTB in their election manifesto:
While we understand – and agree – that effectively managing bTB can have a significant impact on improving farmers’ mental health and wellbeing, as well as the health and welfare of their cattle, we remain firmly opposed to badger culling as the solution. This is based on both scientific and animal welfare evidence.
Badgers are a protected species by law, and are considered one of our most iconic and popular species of native wildlife. Recent polling undertaken by Savanta on behalf of the RSPCA backs this sentiment, with 73% of people in Wales selecting badgers as one of the species they are most concerned about when given a variety to choose from. Furthermore, more than half of those polled (54%) recognised them as ‘iconic British mammals’ when asked what associations they have with badgers, with 43% considering them ‘heavily misunderstood’. Notably, only one in five (20%)* consider them to be ‘disease spreaders’.
Badger culling has been happening in England intensively every year since 2013, which has resulted in over 247,000 badgers being killed as part of its disease prevention programme. However, there is still no scientific consensus that the culling of badgers has been effective in reducing bTB in cattle in England, with the disease still prevalent across the border. While some stakeholders continue to believe that badgers play a major role in the spread of bTB, the science is now clear and there is consensus that this is incorrect. It is now widely recognised that the majority of bTB is transmitted between cattle, with a growing body of robust scientific evidence showing that the majority of infection occurs within and between herds. This was also acknowledged in the UK Government’s new strategy for England which was published on the 10th of June which recommends stricter measures to prevent cattle-cattle infections.
Badger culling has not been used by the Welsh Government since 2012. Still, new herd incidents of bTB in Wales have declined by over 40% since 2010, due, in part, to the various measures put in place over the last decade to limit transfer of the disease between infected cattle. According to the latest quarterly data, herd prevalence is currently at its lowest value since January 2017. New data published on the 17th of June shows a decrease of 23% in relation to new herd instances in Wales covering the 12 months to March 2026. Meanwhile, the number of animals slaughtered also decreased by 21% over the same period. As it stands, almost 95% of herds in Wales are currently free from bTB, under a 14 year programme which focused on reducing cattle-cattle transmission as opposed to culling badgers. While demonstrable progress has been – and is being – made, we agree that more could be done to accelerate Wales’ ambition to be Officially TB Free (OTF). As such, we are calling for farmers to be better supported by the new Welsh Government to take more cost-effective measures such as improved testing – for routine surveillance, as well as pre and post-movement, restricted herd movement, safer trading and enhanced farm biosecurity.
More than half of England’s last estimated badger population was culled in England between 2013 and 2025, with figures from Defra demonstrating that costs associated with culling cost the public purse more than £23.7 million between 2014-2024. Despite this, bTB persists across the border. Due to the failure of badger culling to control the disease, the UK Government confirmed its intention to move away from culling in 2024, and we have since seen an end to 13 years of intensive culling. The UK Government’s change in policy is in line with fulfilling its ambition for England to be Officially TB Free (OTF) by 2038. This in itself signals an acknowledgement that lethal badger control is not needed to achieve bTB eradication.
As Billie Jade says with Wales being home to around 61,000 badgers, if the Welsh Government undertakes a similar trajectory to England’s previous approach in the coming years, thousands of these animals will be killed. However, it is likely that bTB will continue to persist, if we are to learn anything from England’s experience.
None of the experts or the groups set up by the Welsh Government, the Bovine TB Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Wales and the Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board are advocating a cull. Any changes in Wales’ policy on controlling bTB that involves badger culling have the potential to lead to thousands of animals being killed unnecessarily, without eradicating the disease. Let's hope the new Minister listens.
