More than 8,000 badgers destroyed by DAFM in a nation-wide crackdown to eradicate bovine tuberculosis were found to be infection free follow
ā¦infection free following post-mortems. Over 80% of badgers culled by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) tested negative for TB, The Journal Investigates can reveal. Figures obtained via DAFM post-mortem reports show that of the 10,301 culled badgers submitted for testing in the last five years, 8,211 were found to be clear of mycobacterium bovis ā the bacteria that causes bovine tuberculosis (bTB). The healthy badgers were destroyed between 2020 and April 2025 as part of the Stateās bTB Eradication Programme, currently under immense strain from high cattle rates of the disease across the country. As reported by The Journal Investigates, the TB crisis is having a devastating toll on farming communities across the country. Every year, thousands of badgers are killed or vaccinated after being snared in controversial DAFM traps in a bid to control the livestock spread of the highly infectious disease. Last year alone, a total of 7,319 badgers were culled by DAFM ā the highest number recorded in the last 10 years. In total, over 66,000 badgers have been destroyed since 2014 in the controversial culling programme, despite a 2018 government pledge to phase out the killings in favour of vaccination. However, we can reveal that there has been a drop in the number of badgers being vaccinated, and a rise in the number being culled ā even in designated DAFM vaccine areas.
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