More than fifty badgers culled so far this year in Kilkenny

Fifty-one (51) badgers have been culled so far this year in Kilkenny, according to statistics released by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

This is already a much greater number than the number of badgers culled last year (36).

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Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, stated that 'all badgers captured are caught using a stopped body restraint'.

"Badgers that are dispatched, are done so in a humane manner, either by the use of a licensed firearm or by the administration of IV barbiturates by a Veterinary Inspector," he added.

"DAFM does not record if a badger is alive or dead in a restraint in a culling area."

Badger culling seen as an effective means of managing rates of bovine tuberculosis across Ireland.