A cull would save on the cost of compensation to farmers  A cull would be much cheaper than the cost of compensating farmers for their losses as a result of bovine TB. The cost of the disease to the taxpayer is estimated to be £1billion over the next ten years – mostly as a result of compensation payments for farmers. This cost also damages farmers’ livelihoods as the average cost of a TB breakdown on a farm is £34,000 of which the farmer has to pay £12,000. [1] By contrast the cost of the cull is estimated to be £1000 per square kilometre per year meaning the trials for the culls would cost a total of £2.2million. This then is considerably cheaper than the cost of the disease so will be saving both farmers and taxpayers a considerable cost. [2]  [1] ‘Bovine TB (tuberculosis)’, Department for Environment, Food &amp; Rural Affairs,26 March 2013,   [2] Agencies, ‘How badger cull policy was reached’, The Telegraph, 27 August 2013,