Localised badger culls 'increase risk of bovine TB'New research says reactive culling is counter-productive method of controlling tuberculosis in cattle

Localised badger culling can more than double the risk of TB infecting cattle, a new Medical Research Council study has shown.

The results come as the government considers whether farmers should be allowed to organise badger culls in selected areas. They confirm that responding to TB outbreaks by killing local badger populations can significantly raise the risk of more cattle contracting the disease.

This is different from "proactive" culling which systematically eradicates badgers from known problem areas covering at least 150 square kilometres.

In a few days the government is expected to announce whether farmers in selected areas of western England should be granted licences to carry out proactive badger culls.

Prof Christl Donnelly, from Imperial College London, who led the Medical Research Council trial, said: "These findings add to the evidence that localised reactive badger culling has a detrimental effect on tuberculosis risk for cattle.

"This may explain why culls in the past were ineffective at reducing the incidence of bovine TB." More