Bovine TB: authorisation for supplementary badger control in 2023
Licences and conditions relating to licensed actions on or around protected sites.
Applies to England
Documents
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Natural England has licensed and authorised 11 new supplementary badger control areas to begin operations in 2023. It has also authorised the licence holders to resume operations in 18 existing supplementary badger control areas in 2023. Licence holders met all the criteria specified in Defra’s guidance to Natural England, dated May 2021.
Table 1: Supplementary control areas authorised in 2023
1 June is the earliest possible date for the start of operations and is the start of the open season.
| Area number and county | Minimum number | Maximum number | Authorisation date | Year of operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area 3 - Dorset | 163 | 383 | 16 May 2023 | Year 5 |
| Area 4 - Cornwall | 131 | 380 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 5 - Cornwall | 152 | 461 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 6 - Devon | 294 | 1173 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 7 - Devon | 145 | 455 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 8 - Dorset | 475 | 1685 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 9 - Gloucestershire | 219 | 1118 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 10 - Herefordshire | 90 | 359 | 16 May 2023 | Year 4 |
| Area 22 – Cornwall | 448 | 1948 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 23 – Devon | 146 | 1465 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 24 - Devon | 114 | 421 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 25 - Devon | 39 | 534 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 26 - Devon | 55 | 569 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 27 - Devon | 36 | 154 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 28 - Devon | 36 | 302 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 29 - Gloucestershire | 172 | 878 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 30 - Somerset | 230 | 1795 | 1 June 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 31 - Staffordshire | 373 | 2492 | 16 May 2023 | Year 2 |
| Area 33 – Avon | 74 | 707 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 34 – Cheshire | 98 | 938 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 35 – Cornwall | 263 | 1897 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 36 – Staffordshire | 100 | 648 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 37 – Devon | 193 | 985 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 38 – Devon | 173 | 1316 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 39 – Dorset | 51 | 484 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 40 – Herefordshire | 281 | 1253 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 41 – Staffordshire | 351 | 809 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 42 - Wiltshire | 19 | 2550 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
| Area 43 - Wiltshire | 64 | 1005 | 16 May 2023 | Year 1 |
The licence holder will decide the start date for control operations within this period. Licence holders carry out operations under a licence which allows badger control to take place in the licensed control area every year between 1 June and 31 January inclusive.
Natural England has confirmed to the licence holders the minimum and maximum numbers of badgers they can remove.
Protected sites listed in the Annex Bs are not necessarily part of any active operations. These can and will only occur on protected sites where the landowner or occupier has granted permission.
The licences only permit badger control to take place outside these closed seasons:
- controlled shooting – 1 February to 31 May
- cage-trapping and shooting – 1 December to 31 May