Bovine TB: authorisation for badger control in 2021
Published By GOV.UK [English], Tue, Sep 7, 2021 6:30 AM
Natural England has licensed and authorised 7 new badger control areas to begin operations in 2021. It has also authorised the licence holders to resume operations in 33 existing badger control areas in 2021. Licence holders met all the criteria specified in Defra’s guidance to Natural England, dated May 2021.
Natural England has reissued the Annex A for 8 licences due to a change to their control areas as licensed in 2019/2020. These areas were 35-Cornwall, 44-Avon, 47-Herefordshire, 50-Shropshire, 51- Somerset, 52-Warwickshire, 53-Wiltshire and 54-Lincolnshire.
It has also reissued the Annex B for all existing licences from area 22 to area 54 (inclusive). This follows a review of the conditions relating to licensed actions on or around protected sites.
Table 1: Badger control areas authorised in 2021
Area number and county
Minimum number
Maximum number
Authorisation date
Year of operations
Area 22 - Cornwall
0
1087
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 23 - Devon
910
2229
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 24 - Devon
0
196
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 25 - Devon
156
651
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 26 - Devon
234
748
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 27 - Devon
0
115
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 28 - Devon
30
296
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 29 - Gloucestershire
0
502
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 30 - Somerset
0
1311
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 31 - Staffordshire
773
2893
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 32 - Cumbria
N/A
N/A
27 August 2021
Year 4
Area 33 - Avon
358
990
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 34 - Cheshire
1397
2237
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 35 - Cornwall
1689
3325
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 36 - Staffordshire
324
871
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 37 - Devon
380
1173
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 38 - Devon
571
1715
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 39 - Dorset
75
508
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 40 - Herefordshire
295
1267
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 41 - Staffordshire
20
479
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 42 - Wiltshire
1420
3950
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 43 - Wiltshire
252
1193
27 August 2021
Year 3
Area 44 - Avon
2613
4050
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 45 - Derbyshire
1758
3218
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 46 - Gloucestershire
556
860
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 47 - Herefordshire
1246
2198
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 48 - Leicestershire
544
933
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 49 - Oxfordshire
833
1412
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 50 - Shropshire
2703
4649
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 51 - Somerset
2632
4167
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 52 - Warwickshire
1450
2442
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 53 - Wiltshire
689
1054
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 54 - Lincolnshire
N/A
N/A
27 August 2021
Year 2
Area 55 - Shropshire
490
664
27 August 2021
Year 1
Area 56 - Hampshire
1215
1647
27 August 2021
Year 1
Area 57 - Berkshire
359
486
27 August 2021
Year 1
Area 58 - Staffordshire
632
857
27 August 2021
Year 1
Area 59 - Worcestershire
316
429
27 August 2021
Year 1
Area 60 - Shropshire
1478
2004
27 August 2021
Year 1
Area 61 - Oxfordshire
875
1186
27 August 2021
Year 1
Licence holders carry out operations under a 4-year licence. This allows badger control to take place in the licensed control area every year between 1 June and 31 January inclusive.
The licence holder will decide the start date for control operations within this period.
Natural England has confirmed to the licence holders the minimum and maximum numbers of badgers they can remove.
Protected sites listed in the Annex Bs are not necessarily part of any active operations. These can and will only occur on protected sites where the landowner or occupier has granted permission.
The licences only permit badger control to take place outside these closed seasons:
controlled shooting – 1 February to 31 May
cage-trapping and shooting – 1 December to 31 May
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