Badgers at bern
BADGERS AT BERN
As The Horrors Of The UK Badger Cull Continue, Born Free Joins Wildlife Groups To Provide Further Evidence To The Bern Convention For Alleged Breach Of International Treaty Obligations.
Born Free and a coalition of animal welfare organisations have submitted further evidence in support of a complaint which claims that the UK Government’s ongoing badger cull policy in England fails to uphold its duties under the Bern Convention. UK-based Born Free and Badger Trust, alongside Eurogroup for Animals, based in Belgium, have supplied additional information to support their original complaint made in 2019. The complaint challenges whether the UK Government has adequately considered the impact of mass culling of badgers on the badger population and wider biodiversity, and whether there has been any significant disease control benefits to justify the culls.
Britain is home to over 25% of the European badger population. However, with more than 140,000 badgers killed under licence since the cull policy started in 2013, and with culling set to continue until 2025 under recently confirmed UK Government plans, that population is coming under severe pressure. The case was put on ‘standby’ by the Bern Standing Committee in 2020, with a request for further information, the first time a complaint made against the UK Government had not been dismissed at the initial stage.
The additional information covers the following issues:
- After eight years of culling badgers in England, there is little evidence to show any substantive benefits to bovine TB rates in cattle in the cull areas. By contrast in Wales, where no mass culling of badgers has taken place, bovine TB rates in cattle are being successfully reduced using cattle-based measures alone;
- More than 140,000 badgers have been killed in England since 2013, and in spite of UK Government claims that badger culling is to be phased out, it is estimated that the same number again could be targeted over the coming years, with a real risk that badgers could be wiped out completely from swathes of the country where they have lived since the ice age;
- The UK Government has consistently failed to adequately monitor the impacts of culling on badger populations or the wider ecology, risking unforeseen and potentially disastrous consequences for badgers and wildlife more widely;
- These and other failures of the badger culling policy clearly place the UK Government in breach of its commitments to the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention), under which badgers are a protected species.
Dr Mark Jones, veterinarian and Born Free’s Head of Policy, said: “The UK Government and proponents of the badger cull have hailed the policy as a success. However, after eight years of culling evidence for substantial disease control benefits among cattle herds in cull areas is lacking. More than 140,000 badgers have been killed over the past eight years, most by ‘controlled shooting’, a method rejected by the British Veterinary Association because of welfare concerns. This ineffective, inhumane and unnecessary policy must end.”
Dawn Varley, Acting CEO of Badger Trust, said: ‘With 140,000 badgers already lost, and another 140,000 set to be killed, it has never been more urgent to challenge the UK Government on a policy that just doesn’t stack up. We know the UK Government will say the cull is about to end, but in reality there is another five years of culling to come, which would wreak havoc on the badger population – at unknown cost to this usually protected species, and for little benefit to the cattle affected by bovine tuberculosis.’
Reineke Hameleers, Chief Executive of Eurogroup for Animals, added: “The UK government has sought to portray itself as a champion for animal welfare, and yet the ongoing cull of badgers leaves such a claim in tatters. Their policy flies in the face of science, evidence and any notion of the badgers as sentient beings. No animal deserves to be treated this way. For their part, EU Member States and the European Commission have long been bewildered by the rationale of the approach in England. If farmers were not moving their cattle with such frequency, bovine TB rates would be much lower than at present. It is time to end this madness once and for all and to ensure that the European badger is properly protected, if needs be through common European action.”
The Bern Convention is a binding international legal instrument in the field of nature conservation, covering most of the natural heritage of the European continent. It is the only regional Convention of its kind worldwide, and aims to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats, as well as to promote European cooperation in this area. The treaty also takes account of the impact that other policies may have on natural heritage and recognises the intrinsic value of wild flora and fauna, which needs to be preserved and passed to future generations.
Fifty countries and the European Union are signed up to the Convention, signalling their commitment to promoting national conservation policies, considering the impact of planning and development on the natural environment, promoting education and information on conservation, and coordinating research.
The original complaint lodged with the Bern Convention in 2019 can be found HERE.
The ‘additional information’ to the original complaint of 2019, and further to additional information supplied in 2020, was submitted prior to the deadline of 31st July. It is understood the Bern Convention will seek a response from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the UK Government.
It is anticipated the case will then be subject to review by the Bern Convention Bureau, due to meet in September 2021.