THE Government has started to trap and kill badgers in Worcestershire as part of its controversial attempt to stop the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.

Badger conservation campaigners are furious about the cull. They say there is no proven link between the animal and the disease.

BADGER conservation groups are demanding a halt to a controversial cull of badgers.

The 147-square-kilometre area around Bosbury, near Ledbury, (which takes in part of Worcestershire) was identified in 2003 as a culling area for research.

But Mike Weaver, who is chairman of the Worcester Badgers Society, says the experiments, which use bait and cages to trap the animals, are flawed and cruel.

"The experiments are so unscientific they are a waste of money," said Mr Weaver.

"No link has been proven since a badger was found with TB in 1973.

"The biggest cause of bovine TB is transmission from cattle to cattle."

Dan Jones, of the Coalition of Badger Action Groups - which aims to monitor culling areas and take action to save badgers - called on people to tell campaigners the whereabouts of the traps.

"Hundreds of badgers will be trapped, shot and then sent to laboratories where they will be cut up," he said. "Badgers carry on being killed and being made scapegoats."

But farmer Andy Goodman, whose herd was affected by TB for three years in a row, said badger culls were vital.

"TB is an ongoing problem and it's getting worse," said Mr Goodman, from Walsgrove Farm in Great Witley, who estimates he lost £36,000 as a result of TB last year.

"Because our cows were killed we were 200,000 litres (of milk) down last year. We lost a lot of money.

"Badger culling is a rational way to help control the disease."

Defra said it could not confirm or deny culling was taking place in Bosbury.

A spokesman said: "Bovine TB is a very serious matter in the rural community which is of serious concern to farmers.

"It's against the law to sabotage the traps and it would delay research which might prolong the need to cull badgers in the first place".

For more information contact the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (www.defra. gov.uk/animalh/tb) or the Coalition of Badger Action Groups (www.badger-killers. co.uk)

TUBERCULOSIS - THE FACTS AND FIGURES

Bovine TB is an infectious and contagious disease in cattle. Infected animals have to be destroyed, damaging farmers' livelihoods.

Farms in Worcestershire and Herefordshire are the third worst affected in Britain, which is why Bosbury was chosen as one of 10 designated culling zones.

Other mammals are susceptible to the bacteria, including dogs, cats and pigs.

In most cases, cattle are infected through the air, but they are also at risk if they eat contaminated material.

Wild animals such as badgers and deer can act as 'reservoirs' of the disease. Cattle can be infected if they eat grass contaminated by the urine of an infected badger.

Signs that an animal is infected include weakness, loss of appetite, persistent coughing and breathing problems.

The disease can be transmitted to humans by drinking unpasteurised milk or dairy products from infected cows. Risk is considered very low in Britain because of TB vaccination but it is still a problem in the Third World.

In 2003, 67 per cent of readers voted in a Worcester News poll to stop the badger slaughter.

WHY WE CANNOT RESIST BROCK

Mike Weaver says badgers are popular creatures because of their human characteristics.

"They are a lot like people and they live in extended family-type groups known as clans.

"People love them because they just bumble about and are very playful.

"They have that sense of mysticism about them, they've been persecuted for thousands of years and we love sticking up for the underdog."

Killing badgers has been illegal since 1992, and the maximum penalty for the activity of badger baiting is a £5,000 fine.