RSPCA Cymru urges against using badgers as ‘political football’ in debate

Nation Cymru staff

RSPCA Cymru is calling on the Welsh Government to listen to people’s love of wildlife and avoid using badgers as a “political football” as Members of the Senedd (MSs) prepare to debate Bovine TB (bTB).

The RSPCA firmly opposes badger culling as a solution to tackling bovine TB (bTB), based on both scientific and animal welfare evidence.

Today (15 July) a debate on bTB will take place in the Senedd and follows recent polling from the RSPCA which revealed that just under half (46%) of the Welsh population categorically oppose badger culling, while only 27% of people actively support the method.

Meanwhile, the polling also shows that 98% of people in Wales consider protecting Welsh wildlife to be important to them, with badgers among our most popular species.

As well as culling being unpopular from a public perspective, the RSPCA says there is no scientific consensus that it is effective in reducing bTB in cattle, with recent data demonstrating that progress is being made in Wales, without the lethal control of badgers.

Since the Welsh Government decided to stop culling badgers in 2012:

• The number of new herd instances have more than halved. In the 12 months to March 2012, 1,076 were recorded – while 479 instances were recorded in the 12 months to March 2026 – a reduction of more than 55%.
• The overall herd incidence has fallen from 9.9 in the 12 months to March 2012 to 5.7 in the 12 months to March 2026. This marks a reduction of more than 40% and means that herd incidence is currently at its lowest since December 2006.
• Herd prevalence is currently at 4.7% while it was at 6.4% at the end of March 2012. As it stands, herd prevalence in Wales is currently at its lowest since January 2017.

While references to the number of cattle slaughtered have also been made over this Senedd term, this number decreased by over a fifth (21%) in the 12 months to March 2026 in comparison to the previous year. As it stands, almost 95% of herds in Wales are currently free from bTB, under a 14 year programme which has already had success focussing on reducing cattle-cattle transmission as opposed to culling badgers.

Billie-Jade Thomas, Senior Public Affairs Manager for RSPCA Cymru said: “There is a clear lack of public support for badger culling in Wales and neither is such action supported by scientific evidence.

“We therefore call upon Senedd Members from all political groups to use this debate to make a clear statement that badger culling is unethical, unscientific and unsupported by a clear majority of the Welsh public. We hope Wales’ representatives instead prioritise a science-led, cattle-focussed approach to combatting bovine TB. The lives of badgers should not be used as a political football in this debate, or in the Senedd more generally.

“The potential introduction of a badger cull is one of the biggest threats to wildlife in Wales in the coming years. Effectively managing bTB is vital to helping farmers and our agriculture communities, but badger culling is not the answer.

“Badgers are such wonderful creatures and, like all wildlife, deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. A growing body of evidence suggests that the vast majority of bovine TB infection occurs between cattle, with scientific evidence suggesting that badger culling is not an effective way to reduce the disease in cattle.

“Given the new arithmetic in the Senedd, political groups will likely need to work together to deal with bovine TB. We hope politicians are mindful of approaching this in a way which does not needlessly pose a threat to one of our most distinctive and well-loved, yet misunderstood native species.”

In RSPCA Cymru’s manifesto for the seventh Senedd – ‘Securing A Better Future For Animal Welfare in Wales’ – the charity highlights how animal welfare can be improved and prioritised by the next Welsh Government, the expanded number of Senedd Members and political parties across Wales. One of the manifesto calls is rejecting the culling of badgers, which is an ineffective and inhumane method of tackling bovine TB in cattle that involves either trapping badgers in cages and shooting them, or shooting free-roaming badgers at night.

For more information about badgers, visit the RSPCA website, which includes information about badgers and the law..