Over 230,000 Badgers Killed for Nothing: DEFRA Review Confirms the Real Cause of TB

The government has just published the new Bovine TB strategy review, led yet again by Professor Charles Godfray. And while it makes some positive noises about more cattle testing and using the gamma interferon blood test, let’s be honest: the whole thing lacks ambition. It still dances around the truth instead of facing it head on.

Because the truth is now staring everyone in the face. Bovine TB is overwhelmingly spread by cattle-to-cattle transmission. Not badgers. Not wildlife. Cattle. For years we’ve been told the lie that killing badgers was “necessary” to tackle this disease. More than 230,000 badgers have been shot since 2013, yet here we are — and now even the government’s own review admits the real causes are inadequate testing, cattle movements, and poor farm biosecurity.

A review we never trusted

From Day One, we knew this review was compromised. Godfray was reappointed to lead it, despite his role in the 2018 review that gave cover for culling to continue. Alongside him were academics from Oxford who’ve long defended culling. We weren’t prepared to just sit back and accept that.

That’s why we launched a petition demanding Godfray’s removal. More than 6,500 of you signed. In our letter we wrote:

“A truly independent review must exclude individuals with prior involvement in promoting badger culling, especially those who have a professional stake in the policy’s continuation. Without this, the conclusions of the panel will be seen as pre-determined, reinforcing the status quo rather than delivering an evidence-led approach.”

And back in March, I went to Oxford in person to hand deliver the petition alongside brilliant campaigners from Oxfordshire Badger Group which you can watch below.

We were completely ignored, and sure enough the review still tries to keep badgers in the frame.

What it actually says

Buried in the detail (over 100 pages of it) is the real story. The review admits:

• The skin test misses too many infected cattle. More testing is needed.

• Cattle movements spread TB all over the country.

• Farm biosecurity is often poor and lets the disease persist.

So there it is, in black and white: TB is a cattle problem. And yet, almost out of habit, the review still mutters that badgers “contribute.” That fig leaf has been used for more than a decade to justify mass killing. It’s rubbish, and it’s time to say so.

Lacking ambition

This is why the review is so frustrating. It could have been a turning point. It could have said boldly: end the cull, focus on cattle. Instead, it falls back on the same old distractions. That lack of ambition means farmers are still being sold false solutions, and badgers are still being scapegoated and slaughtered.

What’s next

We’re not letting this slide. Our government petition to end the badger cull has smashed past 100,000 signatures, which means Parliament must debate it. A date should be announced soon. To pile the pressure on, we’ve just launched a tool that makes it easy for you to contact your MP with a pre-written letter asking them to attend and back an end to the cull.

This is the moment. After years of wasted time, wasted money, and wasted lives, even DEFRA’s own review admits the truth: TB is about cattle testing, cattle movements, and cattle biosecurity. Badgers were never the problem.

Now we need to make sure that message is heard in Parliament — and that this cruel, pointless cull is ended once and for all.

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