Supplementary Cull figures released show almost 28,000 more badgers marked for slaughter, bringing the kill total to over 250,000.

New figures seen today through Freedom of Information requests shared with Badger Trust show that nearly 28,000 badgers have been marked for slaughter in licences issued under the controversial supplementary cull that started on 1 June 2024. On 16 May 2024, Natural England reauthorised and granted 17 existing Supplementary badger control licences and nine new ones.

Adding this figure to the expected kill figures for this autumn’s planned intensive badger cull means that 2024 will reach the horrific tally of a quarter of a million badgers slaughtered since the badger cull began in 2013.

Badger Trust has written to the newly appointed Minister for Nature, Mary Creagh CBE MP to protect nature and stop this cull immediately. Creagh is a Minister in Defra — the government department responsible for the cull.