147 wild badgers captured and killed in Laois last year

A total of 147 wild badgers were trapped and killed in Laois last year. 

The figures were revealed by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, who said vaccination is being substituted for culling in the coming years. 

Minister McConalogue was responding to a Parliamentary Question by Deputy Holly Cairns. 

She asked the number of badgers culled, by county, in 2022 and to date in 2023, the number of these badgers found dead in the snares; and the number that were alive and were killed by gunshot or other method.

Minister McConalogue revealed there were 147 wild badgers culled in Laois in 2022 and 276 in Offaly during the same time. To date this year, the NPWS has culled 63 wild badgers in Laois and a further 112 in Offaly. 

“My Department does not use snares to capture badgers. Our operatives use stopped body restraints under licence from the National Parks and Wildlife service,” said Minister McConalogue. 

“No badgers were found dead in stopped body restraints and all badgers in the attached spreadsheet were dispatched in accordance with the terms of our licence from the National Parks and Wildlife service,” said Minister McConalogue. 

“Badger vaccination is now an integral part of the Irish TB Eradication Programme. This follows over 15 years of research work using BCG vaccine to prevent tuberculosis infection in badgers, and scientific trials carried out between 2013 and 2017 that show that vaccination is no less effective than culling,” he revealed. 

“Badger vaccination is thus being substituted for continued culling of badgers such that a significant reduction in the numbers of badgers culled can be achieved over the coming years while still maintaining effective control of the risk posed to cattle,” said Minister McConalogue.

“The large-scale roll-out of badger vaccination commenced in late 2019. Every year more and more of the countryside is designated as vaccination zones. This is reflected in the numbers of badgers captured for vaccination in these zones rising from an initial figure of 1,937 badgers in 2019, to 4,698 badgers in 2020. This figure rose again in 2021 to 6,586 badgers, with a further 7,244 badgers captured for vaccination in 2022,” said Minister McConalogue. 

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“I am committed to reducing TB incidence rates across the country. There is a terrible financial and emotional pain associated with a TB breakdown. We have made good strides since I launched the new TB Strategy in 2021 with all stakeholders working collectively and collegially to reduce TB rates. We must keep this going with the ultimate aim of eradicating TB from the herd,” he added. 

Longford, Leitrim and Louth, which are switching to the vaccination programme had no badgers culled in 2022 or 2023 while Donegal and Carlow had no wild badger culled this year.