Environment Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 12 September 2005.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of badgers killed due to (a) road vehicles, (b) illegal action, (c) Government-organised badger culling programmes and (d) other causes in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.
It is not possible to provide an estimate for each of the categories requested as no data is centrally held for the number of badgers killed due to illegal persecution or other causes. However, seven suspected incidents of illegal badger culling activities have been identified since February 2002 and reported to the police authorities.
(a) Between 2000 and May 2005 3,897 badgers were collected, killed due to road vehicles, within the Road Traffic Accident survey area which operates in the seven counties of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Dorset. Outside of the seven counties no data are collected.
(b) 9,758 badgers have been dispatched since 1998 under the Government-organised Randomised Badger Culling Trial.
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