Extension sought for pilot badger cull

But Mr Paterson insisted the results of the first cull would make a valuable contribution towards an initial four-year plan to combat the spread of Bovine TB, and the Government’s wider strategy to rid England of the disease within 25 years.

An application has been made to Natural England for an extension of the six-week cull in Somerset which ended on October 6 and removed 850 badgers. Gloucestershire, where the other pilot cull is taking place, is expected to be the subject of a similar application.

Animal rights campaigners are angry about the proposed extensions but Mr Paterson said: “Current indications suggest that the pilot has been safe, humane and effective in delivering a reduction in the badger population of just under 60 per cent.

“We set ourselves a challenging target of aiming to ensure that 70 per cent of the badger population was removed during the pilot.

“The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has advised that the 60 per cent reduction this year will deliver clear disease benefits as part of a four-year cull. However, Natural England are considering an application from Somerset for a short extension of the culling period.

“The advice of the CVO is that further increasing the number of badgers culled would improve those benefits even further and enable them to accrue earlier.”

A decision on whether to extend the Somerset pilot cull is expected to be made later this week.