MPs will debate badger culling next week after more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for an end to the controlled shooting of badgers.
On Monday 21 March, MPs will debate the petition entitled 'Ban the shooting of badgers immediately’ after it reached the 100,000 threshold required for a parliamentary debate.
Nick Fletcher MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, will open the debate, and Defra minister Jo Churchill MP will respond for the government.
Licensed operators carry out controlled shooting of badgers in the field to prevent the spread of bovine TB, a devastating disease affecting cattle across the UK.
Defra provides online guidance to operators on best practice, as well as techniques that they must comply with.
But the petition, which has more than 106,000 signatures, claims that shooting is 'poorly monitored'. It states that over 24,000 badgers were shot in 2019.
The parliament.uk petition states: “Shooting of badgers is licensed by Natural England as part of the Defra Badger cull.
"Shooting is poorly monitored and Wild Justice believes it has never met the animal welfare standards recommended by a 2014 Independent Expert Panel, whose recommendations were accepted by DEFRA."
The petition adds: "This method of culling is inhumane and should be banned immediately.”
In its response to the petition, the government explained that Natural England "carries out compliance monitoring".
"[It] ensures that each cull company has suitable arrangements and plans in place to carry out an operation that is safe, effective and humane.”
The debate will last up to 90 minutes, and will provide opportunities for MPs to question the government directly on this issue.
The debate will take place in Westminster Hall from 16:30, and will be available to view on Parliament TV and on YouTube.
