Defra has come under fire over revelations about the number of badgers killed by 'cage trapping' during last year’s badger culls.

Responding to a freedom of information request, the environment department revealed that, over the initial six week culling period in Somerset, 500 badgers were trapped before being shot whilst 365 were shot whilst 'free running'.  In Gloucestershire, 543 free-running badgers were shot, whilst a further 165 were trapped before being shot.

The two 'pilot culls' were ostensibly set up to assess the efficacy, humaneness and cost-effectiveness of shooting free-running badgers, though trapping was introduced after less than a week in both cull zones, according to the findings of the Independent Expert Panel assessed with evaluating Defra's performance. In its freedom of information response, Defra revealed that caged trapping was used within two days in both cull zones.

Cull licensing body Natural England cut short an eight week extension to culling in Gloucestershire at the end of November, admitting that the onset of closed season on caged shooting would make "a further significant reduction in [badger numbers over] the coming weeks unlikely."

Although Defra officials said they had to "learn lessons" from last year's culls, which independent assessors on the IEP judged had failed to meet the government's self-set targets for humaneness and efficacy, the results of the free-shooting experiment will serve to cast further doubt on Defra's cull design.

Although the government, and its supporters in the NFU, maintain that tackling the 'wildlife reservoir' is essential to reducing bovine TB in England, and that TB has only been brought under control in areas where wildlife culls have taken place, expert scientists, including a number who led badger culling trials under the previous government, have dismissed the cull policy as "a costly distraction" which can make "no meaningful contribution" to bTB control.

Badger culling will not be extended to new areas this year, though Defra secretary Owen Paterson revealed that culling will resume in Gloucestershire and Somerset. In light of the FOI release, it seems likely that caged trapping (a more expensive methodology than 'free shooting') will play a greater part if culls do go ahead this year.   

The department also revealed that it had covered the cost of supplying cages, though it refused to reveal the cost to the taxpayer. The Department added it "is likely to procure cage traps this year" and claimed that divulging the cost could affect this year's tender process.

Asked about the cost of protective clothing, ammunition and hiring markspeople, Defra said these were covered by the NFU and individual cull companies, and that these groups will not be reimbursed.