Farmers raise doubts over badger cull costs

Under the proposed licensed criteria, at least 70 per cent of land within the designated 150sq.km plus areas must be accessible. There will be no legal compulsion to take part in what will, if it goes ahead, be a voluntary, farmer-led policy.

The early signs are that farmers are generally willing to take part. In at least three defined areas of the South West, sufficient numbers of farmers have already signed up to group badger cull programmes are ‘ready to go’ as soon as the licences are available, according to the National Beef Association’s Bill Harper.

News that the National Trust will allow culling on its land means one potentially significant barrier appears to have been removed.

But there are still doubters, even among those who want to see badgers culled. In particular, there are grumblings from within some TB hotspot about how much this is all going to cost the farmer.

The Government has, after all, made it clear farmers will pay for everything except the issuing of licences and some monitoring work.

Michael Hart, from near St Austell, in Cornwall, points to figures in an annex to the badger cull consultation estimating an overall cost to farmers over a typical 200sq.km area of £1.6 million. This is the combined cost of culling vaccinating badgers, land surveys, co-ordination and administration and disposing of badger carcases.

Mr Hart estimates farmers could end up paying £15-20 per acre in the first year and £8/acre from then on.

Mr Hart, chairman of the Small and Family Farms Alliance, said farmers he has spoken to around him would baulk at such a cost. “I cannot see farmers being willing to pay that kind of money for that period of time. A lot of farmers think that all they have to do is load their shotguns and go. But there is a lot more to it than most realise,” he said, adding that he believed the Government should be picking up a larger share of the tab.

Another farmer, who asked not to be named, echoed his concerns, saying there was simply ‘no way’ they would pay that sort of money.

Such concerns will be significant if they come to be shared across TB hotspots, particularly by those who feel they are not under immediate threat from TB in badgers.

However, the NFU’s head of food and farming, Kevin Pearce, said it was far too early to start making assumptions about costs when the details of the policy are still to be fleshed out.

“We have to find a cost-effective efficient way of doing this otherwise we won’t gain farmer support. I absolutely believe we can do that,” said Mr Pearce.

How much farmers will pay will depend heavily on the methods of badger control deployed in their area. This will be heavily influenced by the final licence criteria, which will nit be revealed until early next year.  

The ‘preferred option’ in the consultation is for badger control to be performed by a combination of cage trapping, free shooting and vaccination around the edge of the zone.

Trapping is hugely expensive, costing an estimated £2,500/sq.km per year, according the consultation’s impact assessment.

One potential contractor, who intends to call upon ex-MAFF/Defra colleagues if the policy is given the green light, estimates he would charge around £12/acre for survey work and trapping and shooting badgers. He admitted that ‘sounds a bit steep’ but insisted it was realistic, given that each cage will cost £80, with potential ‘huge losses’ from vandalism.

He insisted, however, that cage trapping would be an essential part of the process, as it is ‘far more effective and humane’ than free shooting, which he claimed was ‘fraught with difficulties’.

Free shooting - which in some cases farmers with the appropriate firearms licences and equipment could do themselves but in many cases will be contracted out – will, however, be ten times cheaper, according to the Defra consultation.

“If we were facing using cage trapping alone we would have areal challenge on our hands but free shooting makes it much more affordable,” Mr Pearce said.

But it is vaccination that will account for more than half the overall cost, according to the impact assessment, due in large part to the costly delivery process by trained contractors who will cage trap and inject badgers.

 The disposal of badger carcases could end up being another significant costs. Michael Seals, chairman of National Fallen Stock Company, which could perform the function estimated a charge of in the region of £20 to £30 per badger.

It is not just the overall cost that has to be resolved but how it will be divided up. One option is for farmers to pay a membership fee to cover the cost to a company limited by guarantee, which could apply for licences, providing anonymity for farmers, and carry out any financial transactions, such as hiring contractors.

A key question under this model is whether there should be as flat fee paid by all or a payment linked to acreage. Both could potentially lead to anomalies.

Senior NFU  officials will be discussing the details of the policy with farmers in ‘roadshows’ and meetings in TB areas over the coming weeks and months.

“There is a lot of will to make this happen. It’s got to work and it’s got to be affordable,” Mr Pearce said.

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