On Tuesday (5th November), Environment Secretary Owen Paterson updated parliament on the results of the Somerset pilot cull, the first of the government's two trial badger culls to reach completion. Paterson said, "This will deliver clear disease benefits as part of a four year cull in the area."

The initial cull license in Somerset ended early last month, but the cull company was granted a three week extension as markspeople were unable to kill the target 70 percent of the local badger population that Defra's scientific advisors had said would be necessary to impact on bovine TB incidence in the cull zones (the effects of culling on bTB in local badger or cattle populations are not being recorded in either pilot cull). 

Culling came to an end on Friday 1st November. On Tuesday Mr Paterson told parliamentarians that, over the course of the three week extension, only 90 more badgers were shot in the cull zone. This raises the total number of badgers killed to 940, or 65 percent of the estimated local population. 

After the expiry of the initial license, when 59 percent of badgers were shot in the Somerset zone, Defra chief vet Nigel Gibbens assured that the lower number of badgers would have an effect on bovine TB, but supported an extension to expedite and increase the culls' effect on bTB incidence. On announcing the results after the first six weeks of culling in Somerset, Mr Paterson also unveiled new, reduced population estimates for both cull zones, the third such revision in 12 months (badger populations in both zones were estimated to have fallen by 1,000 individuals since Autumn 2012). 

The Badger Trust has since criticised the Chief Veterinary Officer, accusing him of making contradictory and misleading statements; the Trust revealed on 24th October that Gibbens had told BBC's Farming Today that six weeks – the initial length of both trial culls - was "a good target to start with," whilst he had previously stated in Court that six weeks should be the maximum length of time for culling, (Gibbens was then defending a legal challenge brought by the Badger Trust).

Paterson claimed as a success the 59 percent figure reached after the six week license expired in Somerset, a claim that Defra repeated on Tuesday. A spokesperson said, "With the further removal of badgers seen, the extension has been successful in meeting this aim [of achieving 'disease control benefits']." However, the spokesperson acknowledged that data on bTB on cattle would only be available on a county-by-county basis and that levels of the disease in the badger population would not be measured. 

According to Defra, an Independent Panel of Experts will now assess the cull results. Paterson reiterated on Tuesday that, "current indications also suggest that the pilot has been safe and humane."

However, Jack Reedy, spokesperson for the Badger Trust, challenged Defra officials' assertions that the Somerset cull had been successful, which he said are – at the very least – premature. He explained, "The results of the culls have been gerrymandered. They [Defra] didn't know how many badgers were in the cull zones, they haven't hit their self-set targets and they didn't complete the cull within the allotted time."

He added, "The actual effects of the cull will not become clear for 12 months. For anybody to make gross claims on the basis of one month of culling would be ridiculous."

Mr Reedy said that independent scientific assessment has shown that, in order to be effective, culls should remove the target number of badgers within as short a space of time as possible. This runs contrary to Defra's claims that removing the target number of badgers should be a priority, regardless of how long it takes to achieve. Mr Reedy elaborated, "To put this [cull] in context; culling periods in the Randomised Badger Culling Trials were 10 to 12 days, compared to 64 days in Somerset and 162 days now in Gloucestershire. This will greatly increase the risk of perturbation. "   

On Thursday, two Somerset dairy farmers were convicted of attempting to illegally gas badgers using exhaust fumed from their Land Rover, pumped down the blocked off holes of a badger sett. Police and wildlife groups had warned that the government’s handling of the cull could give the impression that Defra has declared "open season on badgers," which remain a protected animal. 

A recent investigation uncovered 14 cases of illegal gassing on farms in the South West, though Defra still refuses to acknowledge that illegal persecution could be responsible for the fluctuating population estimates gathered from the two cull zones, which appear to contradict stable estimates taken from other monitored badger populations nearby.