Maria Eagle MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, responding to the announcement of the second year of the Government’s badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset, said: 

“It is appalling that these culls are going ahead when they have already been described as an ‘epic failure’ by the Chief Scientific Advisor to Natural England.

“Bovine TB is a serious problem that needs addressing but these culls have been shown to be ineffective, inhumane and they may have made the problem worse.

“Elizabeth Truss missed a clear opportunity when she became Secretary of State to leave prejudice-based policy in the past and place science firmly at the centre of her department’s policy.

“To add insult to injury these culls are proceeding without any independent scientific oversight.

“The Government must explain why it is refusing to work with scientists, wildlife groups and farmers to develop an alternative strategy to get the problem of Bovine TB under control.”