Government response

Badger cull humaneness expert advice will be publicly available

Defra responds to claims made by Humane Society International in The Times

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The myth:

The Times reports claims by The Humane Society International that the humaneness of the controlled shooting method used in the badger cull pilots will be a ‘highly subjective’ decision by ministers based on a ‘completely secret’ assessment.

The truth:

Ministers will be provided with independently assessed evidence from the pilot culls, as well as advice from a range of experts on humaneness, before making a final decision on controlled shooting. All of this information will be made publicly available after the pilot culls finish.

Updates to this page

Published 17 September 2013