Defra has claimed the aborted badger cull trial in Gloucestershire was a success, despite the fact that permission for the cull was pulled last week after markspeople failed to kill enough badgers.

On Friday, cull licensing body Natural England brought the eight week culling extension to an end after five weeks had elapsed. Trial culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire were both initially intended to last for six weeks, but were both extended as cull companies failed to meet their targets.

The extension was opposed by Natural England's scientific advisors and the architects of earlier badger culling trials, who said it risked increasing the perturbation effect seen when sick animals are disturbed and spread disease around a wider area. Defra-funded research reached similar conclusions in October.

Speaking to the Guardian, David Macdonald, Natural England’s senior scientific advisor and an Oxford University professor, last month elaborated on his opposition. He said, "My personal opinion as a biologist [is] not to continue the cull. One could not have significant comfort that the original proposals would deliver gains to farmers. Extending the cull would make the outcome even less predictable and even more unpromising."

Even so, after the initial six week trials in Somerset and Gloucestershire yielded unpromising results, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson admitted in parliament that his department would be considering other means of dispatching badgers. He said Defra is conducting desk-based research into gassing as a means of dispatch (gassing was made illegal in 1982 as it was deemed inhumane). Investigations in the South-West in October revealed that illegal gassing of badgers is a widespread problem, and two Somerset farmers were convicted under the Protection of Badgers Act last month.  

On Monday, the Defra secretary claimed that the NFU and Gloucestershire cull company had requested that the extension, granted in October, be pulled. Culling ended on Saturday (30^th October). From Sunday cull contractors would have been prevented from using the trap-and-shoot method and would have been forced to revert to free-shooting, the methodology culls in the South-West were intended to trial.

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In fact, over the five extra weeks of culling, 213 badgers were killed compared to 700 in the first six week period. This means that, in all, the Gloucestershire cull company managed to kill 40 percent of the estimated local badger population, and fell way short of the 70 percent target that government advisors had said was necessary for disease control. After the cull company only managed to remove 30 percent of badgers in its initial period, the kill target in the zone was lowered to 58 percent of the local population by Natural England under the terms of its eight week extension.

Badgers moving goalposts across South-West

Although the two badger cull pilots have failed to meet every self-set target set so far, Defra officials have claimed each of the missed objectives as successes. On 9th October, after the initial six weeks of the Somerset cull came to an end, BBC's Justin Leigh put it to Owen Paterson that the cull had been "A failure on all levels." When Paterson accused badgers in Somserset of 'moving the goalposts' Leigh added, "You didn't estimate the number of badgers in the area correctly in the first place, you haven't reached the… target that you set yourself, and now the trial has to be extended. You're moving the goal posts on all fronts. Doesn't that make the cull ridiculous in itself?"

A poll conducted by Humane Society International after the initial six week trials ended revealed that, regardless of their stance on the issue, the majority of people questioned believed the government's badger cull policy had been a failure.

Nevertheless, the Environment Secretary claimed on Monday that "The extension in Gloucestershire has… been successful in meeting its aim in preparing the ground for a fully effective four year cull." He added, "Controlling the disease in wildlife is and will remain a key part of our TB Strategy…This Government is resolved to do this."

Mr Paterson added, "Culling is only one part of our approach to tackle the spread of TB. We are using every tool available including tougher movement controls for cattle… better biosecurity on farms and working to develop effective and usable cattle and badger vaccines. We continue to make good progress on all aspects of our draft strategy to eradicate the disease in England within 25 years."

The Independent Panel of Experts will now consider the data collected on culling. The pilots will be assessed based on their safety, effectiveness and humaneness. Paterson promised that the panel's findings would inform his decision on the wider roll-out of badger culling, but the Defra Secretary has already stated his intention to expand culling in areas of England affected by bTB as early as 2014.

Angry reaction from wildlife charity

Reacting to the news that Gloucestershire's extended cull had been brought to an early close, the Badger Trust railed against the government's unpopular policy last week.  A Trust spokesperson said, "Owen Paterson, the Coalition and the cattle industry have wasted the lives of many hundreds of badgers and have suffered a humiliating and inevitable setback… of extended badger killing in Gloucestershire." 

David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust, said, "This ill-advised cut-rate shambles has involved miscalculation of badger populations, manipulated time scales, huge expense for the taxpayer in policing costs, and the fiasco of repeatedly-missed targets. If it was not so serious it would be comical and should never have happened in the first place."