Why the badger cull is not working

Analysis: Research suggests the badger cull looks more like a wild goose chase than a solution for tackling bovine TB, writes Phoebe Weston

The disease is a huge burden to farmers and costs the UK taxpayer £100m a year in compensation pay out (Getty/iStock)

The debate about culling badgers has raged on for decades – with farmers, conservationists and vets at loggerheads over the best way to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB).

The disease is a huge burden to farmers and costs the UK taxpayer £100m a year in compensation payouts to those whose infected cattle have had to be slaughtered.

In England, the government is tackling the problem with vast culling operations.