Badgers culled despite two studies casting doubt on TB link, say vets

Group of leading vets claim research, not published for two years, shows the mammals would have been unlikely to infect cattle

A group of eminent vets claim that the rationale for expanding the badger cull has been undermined by a pair of studies commissioned by the government that ministers have been sitting on for two years.

The government says new cull zones should be introduced where there is evidence that badgers are an important factor in spreading bovine TB to cattle, a potentially ruinous scenario for farmers.