Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why it was a requirement that there should be access to only 70 per cent of the land area of the badger culling pilots; and whether that percentage was achieved in each of the two counties involved in the pilots.

As set out in Guidance to Natural England, applications for culling licences were required to have access for culling to at least 70% of the total land area in the application. This is based on evidence from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial. In issuing a licence to each area in autumn 2012, Natural England confirmed that the applications from West Somerset and Gloucestershire had met this condition.