FARMERS in Gloucestershire have greeted with dismay the announcement that reactive badger culling is to cease in areas where the government has been trialing ways to curb TB among cattle.

Reactive culling is the part of the three-pronged trials which removes only badgers geographically close to recent cattle TB outbreaks. The trials also involve proactive culling - thinning badger populations across a whole trial area - and no culling where only monitoring is carried out.

Anthony Gibson NFU director for Gloucestershire, said; "We have not heard anything from Defra which convinces us that this move is justified, and if reactive culling has been stopped, proactive culling should be stepped up."

He added: "The consequences of this disease in human and financial terms are incalculable, and farmers are going to feel that, yet again, they have been sidelines for the sake of political expediency."

Mr Gibson stressed: "There is no point in being mealy-mouthed about the badger situation. Numbers have increased to the point where they have become a pest across vast swathes of the South West. They are acting as a reservoir of a nasty and very costly disease which is ruining lives and livelihoods, leading to the slaughter of over 20,000 cattle a year and costing taxpayers over £60 million."