Govt report: Badger culls 'ineffective and inhumane'

A Government-commissioned investigation into the 2013 pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset is said to have found they were ineffective and inhumane, according to BBC reports.

Research commissioned by the Government found that the number of badgers killed fell short of targets set to limit the spread of TB in cattle:

• The aim was to kill 70% in cull areas within a six-week period, but fewer than 50% of badgers were killed in both areas during the first six weeks
• Over 5% of badgers took longer than five minutes to die, failing the test for humaneness