Nearly 20,000 badgers culled in attempt to reduce bovine TB

Almost twice as many badgers have been killed this autumn, after massive expansion of the cull zones

Nearly 20,000 badgers were culled this autumn as part of the government's attempt to reduce bovine TB in cattle, in what critics called the largest destruction of a protected species in living memory.

The 19,274 dead badgers is almost twice as many as last year after 11 new cull zones were added to a swath of the West Country worst-hit by bovine TB. While some badgers were trapped before being shot, the majority - 11,638 badgers - were killed by free shooting, a method judged inhumane by the British Veterinary Association.