A few days ago I posted news that we've been given internal Natural England documents relating to the two Hampshire cull zones, Area 56, which was introduced in 2021, and Area 67 which came into being in 2022. The earlier post included an approximate map of the Area 56 cull zone in the Andover/Basingstoke/Newbury area.
The Natural England paper contains specific measurements of the cull zone boundary from various protected areas of conservation, enabling us to create an approximate map of the Area 67 cull zone boundary. I've attached that below. You'll see that it includes virtually the entire New Forest area and the leaked document specifically states that both the New Forest SPA and New Forest SAC are "within/adjacent to the project area".
Next week we expect to learn how many badgers were shot under license in Areas 56 and 67. We won't know until the Autumn what the 2023 cull targets will be for each area, by which time this year's culling will be almost complete. If you're thinking of visiting the New Forest, or holidaying there, between August and November, be aware that pairs of people will be undertaking the controlled shooting of free-running badgers there in the night on a routine basis. And that daytime shooting will be taking place "to dispatch cage trapped badgers".
Better still, give the New Forest National Park a miss completely.
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