Badger culls will not be rolled out, Owen Paterson tells MPs

An independent report on the culls found they could be conducted safely and the majority of badgers were killed humanely but the pilots did not kill as many badgers as hoped, Mr Paterson told the House of Commons.

The second year of the two pilots, in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset, will go ahead with changes made in light of the report to improve the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of culling.

The changes will be monitored to assess their impact before decisions are made on whether to extend the programme to other areas next year.

The independent report, published in the wake of Mr Paterson's statement, found that "controlled shooting" - shooting of free-running badgers - could not deliver the level of culling needed to bring about a reduction in TB in cattle.

The study found that less than 48% of the badger cull population in the Somerset area were killed, and less than 39% in Gloucestershire, compared to the 70% which scientific research says is needed to cut TB in livestock.

It also found that a number of badgers took more than five minutes to die, others were hit but not retrieved and some were possibly missed altogether.

The independent expert group said the number of badgers who were not shot and killed quickly should be less than 5% but this was not achieved in the pilots, where somewhere between 7% and 23% of badgers took longer than five minutes to die.

But it found that controlled shooting could be carried out safely even if protesters were in the vicinity.

Mr Paterson, MP for North Shropshire, said: "The four year culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire are pilots and we always expected to learn lessons from them.

"It is crucial we get this right. That is why we are taking a responsible approach, accepting recommendations from experts to make the pilots better.

"Doing nothing is not an option. Bovine TB is a terrible disease which is devastating our cattle and dairy industries and causing misery for many people in rural communities.

"We need to do everything we can, as set out in our strategy, to make England TB free."

The pilots would continue this year with changes in line with the report's recommendations, he said, as he set out measures to tackle TB in livestock in England, including tough cattle movement controls and a grant-funded scheme for badger vaccination projects in areas around the edge of disease hotspots.

The Government and farmers insist culling is necessary to tackle the disease which saw more than 26,000 cattle slaughtered in England last year, but opponents say it is inhumane and ineffective and alternatives such as vaccination should be pursued.

Opponents of the cull were quick to criticise the Environment Secretary for his failure to abandon the existing pilots altogether.

MP Tracey Crouch, a prominent Tory opponent of the cull, said: "I am disappointed that the Secretary of State has not paid attention to the outcomes of the pilot culls, which were a cruel, indiscriminate and ineffective means of culling badgers.

"The culls were an expensive failure and as a consequence bovine TB could in fact spread to areas that are currently free of the disease".

Queen guitarist and prominent campaigner against the cull, Brian May, said: "The Government's shambolic reaction to the bovine TB problem limped on today, as Paterson announced that the random killing of badgers in Gloucester and Somerset will repeated this Summer, while plans for the 'roll-out' to other counties is shelved.

"I personally find myself disgusted that (Prime Minister David) Cameron and Paterson insult us all by continuing this spectacular failure, which can only get more and more embarrassing for them."