The UK government has finally acknowledged the need to end the cruel and ineffective practice of badger culling by 2029. While this is a step in the right direction, waiting until 2029 to fully implement this change is unacceptable. Campaigners have also pointed out that although badgers are blamed as the primary spreaders of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) seems to have overlooked the cattle themselves as disease spreaders.
Sign this petition to urge Defra to end badger culling by 2026 and to intensify research and action on cattle vaccination and management to control bTB.
Despite plans to continue some existing culls and the creation of a badger vaccination taskforce, the pace of change is too slow, and the focus misdirected. Defra admits to lacking recent data on badger populations and their bTB status, yet continues to sanction their killing based on outdated and inconclusive evidence.
Badgers, like all wildlife, have every right to live and thrive. They are integral to the ecosystem and deserve to be protected, not eradicated. New information proves that we can coexist with badgers and safeguard cattle through vaccination rather than culling.
Sign this petition to call for immediate, evidence-based actions to address bTB that respect wildlife and focus on the actual vectors of the disease!
