Blow to plans for further culls as report reveals killings were neither humane nor effective at curbing TB in cattle

Controversial badger culls in England aimed at curbing TB in cattle failed on both humaneness and effectiveness, according to independent expert assessments obtained by the Guardian and the BBC.

A significant number of badgers were not shot cleanly, while the total killed fell far short of the number required to ensure TB was not spread further by badgers disturbed by the culling.

The revelations are the most damaging yet and will make it challenging for ministers to justify their aim of rolling out further culls across the country.

Maria Eagle, the shadow environment secretary, said: “It would be outrageous if ministers now sought to dismiss the advice of their own independent expert panel and press on with further culling of badgers regardless. The environment secretary should come back to parliament on this issue and there should be no roll-out of the government’s badger cull policy without a full debate and vote in parliament. These culls have been a disaster for taxpayers, farmers and wildlife.”

“The government’s boast that all badgers were killed cleanly and killed instantly is clearly not true,” said Mark Jones, vet and executive director of Humane Society International/UK. “We fear many badgers may have suffered significant pain and distress.”

Dominic Dyer, CEO of the Badger Trust and policy adviser to Care for the Wild, said: “David Cameron should now be taking a long hard look at this policy which has shamed his government. It was conceived for political, not practical reasons. It was carried out in an arrogant and careless fashion which has now been officially branded a failure.”

Pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in autumn 2013 were intended to demonstrate that a minimum of 70% of badgers could be killed within six weeks in a humane way. However, despite the badger population estimates being sharply cut and the culls being extended, both failed to meet the minimum 70%.

Monitoring reports from England’s wildlife watchdog, Natural England, seen by the Guardian, show that a third of the badgers were shot in the wrong part of the body and two out of nine had to be shot twice, having not died instantly. The reports also show that on many occasions the marksmen failed to follow biosecurity protocols aimed at preventing disease spread, such as not using disinfectants.

The information leaked to the BBC and verified by the Guardian is from a report by an independent panel of scientists and based on the government’s own monitoring. It showed that between 6.4% and 18% of shot animals took more than five minutes to die, depending on the assumptions made. The standard to be met was that no more than 5% of the shot badgers should take more than five minutes to die. The report also concluded that fewer than half the badgers were killed in Somerset in the first six weeks, lower than the government’s own estimate of 58%, which was calculated using a different methodology. The report has yet to be submitted to ministers.

Andrew Guest, from the National Farmers Union, said of the revelations: “It doesn’t sound good.” But he said it was important that a significant number of badgers had been removed.

A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural affairs said: “We knew there’d be lessons to be learned from the first year of the pilot culls which is why we’re looking forward to receiving the panel’s recommendations for improving the way they are carried out, because we need to do all we can to tackle this devastating disease.” About 30,000 TB-infected cattle a year are slaughtered at a cost to taxpayers of about £100m.

Professor Rosie Woodroffe, who worked on a landmark 10-year study of badger culling, said the conclusion to be drawn was simple: “The pilot culls have not been effective.” She also questions the multi-million pound cost of the culls and argues that badger vaccination would be cheaper.

The badger culls were condemned as “mindless” in 2012 by Lord John Krebs, who commissioned the 10-year study. The extensions to the culls were criticised by Natural England’s lead scientific director, Sir David Attenborough and the National Trust.

Ministers had been expected to decide whether to roll-out further culls by the end of February. Natural England, which licences the culls under terms dictated by government, has already received dozens of applications for culls, should more be allowed.