Bovine TB: authorisation for supplementary badger control in 2022
Published By GOV.UK [English], Wed, May 25, 2022 7:00 AM
Natural England has licensed and authorised 10 new supplementary badger control areas to begin operations in 2022. It has also authorised the licence holders to resume operations in 19 existing supplementary badger control areas in 2022. Licence holders met all the criteria specified in Defra’s guidance to Natural England, dated May 2021.
Table 1: Supplementary control areas authorised in 2022
1 June is the earliest possible date for the start of operations and is the start of the open season.
Area number and county
Minimum number
Maximum number
Authorisation date
Year of operations
Area 3 - Dorset
163
383
16 May 2022
Year 4
Area 4 - Cornwall
131
380
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 5 - Cornwall
152
461
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 6 - Devon
294
1173
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 7 - Devon
145
455
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 8 - Dorset
475
1685
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 9 - Gloucestershire
219
1118
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 10 - Herefordshire
90
359
16 May 2022
Year 3
Area 11 – Cheshire
122
408
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 12 - Devon
194
1155
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 13 - Devon
180
711
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 14 - Devon
85
425
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 15 - Devon
157
393
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 16 - Dorset
427
2057
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 17 - Somerset
86
723
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 18 - Somerset
50
302
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 19 - Wiltshire
284
1238
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 20 - Wiltshire
154
595
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 21 - Wiltshire
122
763
16 May 2022
Year 2
Area 22 – Cornwall
448
1948
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 23 – Devon
146
1465
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 24 – Devon
114
421
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 25 - Devon
39
534
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 26 - Devon
55
569
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 27 - Devon
36
154
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 28 - Devon
36
302
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 29 - Gloucestershire
172
878
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 30 - Somerset
230
1795
16 May 2022
Year 1
Area 31 - Staffordshire
373
2492
16 May 2022
Year 1
The licence holder will decide the start date for control operations within this period. Licence holders carry out operations under a licence which allows badger control to take place in the licensed control area every year between 1 June and 31 January inclusive.
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
Press release distributed by Media Pigeon on behalf of GOV.UK, on May 25, 2022. For more information subscribe and follow