'Seismic shift’: ministers signal end of badger cull

Vaccination and movement controls will be used instead to tackle bovine TB in England

The controversial cull of badgers across England will begin to be phased out in the next few years, the government has announced, with vaccination of the animals being ramped up instead.

The cull is intended to cut tuberculosis in cattle and has killed at least 100,000 badgers since 2013. TB in cattle is a severe problem for farmers and taxpayers, leading to the compulsory slaughter of 30,000 cattle and a cost of 150m every year.