Badger culls were carried out to reduce tuberculosis infections in cattle. Photograph: Toby Houlton/Alamy
No new mass culls of badgers will be allowed in England after 2022, under government plans announced on Wednesday.
Since 2013 more than 100,000 badgers have been killed in culls that are intended to reduce tuberculosis infections in cattle. About 30,000 cattle are slaughtered each year at a cost of £150m.
The drive to eradicate bovine TB (bTB) will instead focus on vaccinating badgers and cattle and tightening restrictions on the movement of cattle. The environment secretary, George Eustice, said progress was being made on a cattle vaccine and it could be available from 2025.