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The House of Commons debated whether to continue with the controversial badger culls, and overwhelmingly voted to halt the cull.
Dr Rosie Woodroffe, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, said:
“Today’s vote was not binding and does not change government policy. Nevertheless, it was good to see the evidence being embraced on both sides of the House. This issue has been debated repeatedly in recent times, and each time the MPs appear better informed about the scientific evidence – I counted eight scientists being mentioned by name, showing the level of parliamentary engagement with science. Like parliament, I anxiously await the publication of the full IEP report on last year’s pilot culls, which will further improve the evidence base as policymakers decide how to proceed. The information available at present suggests that the pilot culls risk worsening the TB problem which is already such a blight on farmers’ lives and livelihoods. On that basis, today’s vote was a victory for scientific evidence, which hopefully may signal a future victory for both farming and wildlife.”