Licences and conditions relating to licensed actions on or around protected sites.
Natural England has not licensed any new area cull licences in 2025. It has authorised the licence holders to resume operations in 12 existing badger control areas. Licence holders met all the criteria specified in Defra's guidance to Natural England, dated May 2021.
Natural England has reissued the Annex A for the Low Risk Area (LRA) Area 73 Cumbria due to a small change to its control area this year.
Natural England has also published the Licence Annex B for all existing licences.
Table 1: Badger control areas authorised in 2025
| Area number and county | Minimum number | Maximum number | Authorisation date | Year of operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area 62 - Buckinghamshire | 577 | 1006 | 11 September | Year 4 |
| Area 63 - Cornwall | 31 | 243 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 64 - Cornwall | 81 | 230 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 65 - Derbyshire | 79 | 478 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 66 - Devon | 310 | 449 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 67 - Hampshire | 96 | 347 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 68 - Northamptonshire | 551 | 1339 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 69 - Oxfordshire | 233 | 412 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 70 - Somerset | 17 | 90 | 10 September | Year 4 |
| Area 71 - Warwickshire | 95 | 463 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 72 - Warwickshire | 34 | 864 | 28 August | Year 4 |
| Area 73 - Cumbria | N/A | N/A | 28 August | Year 2 |
The licence allows authorised persons to undertake badger control within the licensed control area each year between 1 June and 31 January inclusive.
The licence holder will decide the start date for control operations within this period.
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
