Badger-shooting plan to curb TB in cows

Under Government proposals, farmers based in TB hot spots will be able to obtain licences to trap and kill badgers from next year.

While the disease has been mainly confined to Wales and the south west of England, there have been several cases in Yorkshire, with hundreds of cattle having to be slaughtered as a result or subject to movement restrictions, and regular testing.

The plans require farmers to meet the costs of culling the wild animals, which are known to carry and spread TB to livestock.

It reverses the previous Government's approach, with vaccination being Labour's preferred solution. Defra said the vaccination plans would continue long term but that culling was necessary in the short term.

Farming minister Jim Paice said urgent action was needed.

"The science is clear, there is no doubt that badgers are a significant reservoir for the disease and without taking action to control the disease in them, it will continue to spread."

The badgers would have to be trapped and shot or shot in the wild.

The announcement was welcomed by farming leaders. National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall said: "This is not about eradicating badgers, this is about disease control."

However, the RSPCA said people did not want a cull.