THE announcement that culling of badgers will be extended to four new areas of the South West has angered Green MEP Molly Scott Cato.

It has been extended to south and north Devon, north Cornwall and west Dorset after three years in Somerset and Gloucestershire, and a year in North Dorset.

Ms Scott Cato, MEP for South West England, said that the "failed and inhumane policy which will do nothing to address the dire situation facing farmers affected by bovine TB".

She said: "Independent scientific evidence, commissioned by the Government, has revealed the cull to be nothing more than mass cruelty supported by bad science.

“In an area like the South West, where farmers are so deeply affected by this disease, we need effective and scientifically grounded policy, not political performance."

Ms Scott Cato called for long-term efforts on bovine TB to be focused on humane and evidence-based controls, on extending programmes of badger vaccination, and on investment into developing a cattle vaccine.

"While TB infections are continuing to rise in the existing cull areas, in Wales, which uses scientifically supported techniques including rigorous TB testing, tighter controls on cattle movement and strict biosecurity measures instead of inhumane culling, there has been a 14% reduction,” she said.