By Pallab Ghosh
BBC Science Correspondent
The government has decided against a cull of badgers to control TB in English cattle, the BBC understands.
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Veteran MP Dunwoody dies ... announcement, which was due to be made next Monday, goes against the recommendations of the former Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King.
Last year, he told ministers that culling badgers could be effective in controlling the spread of the disease.
The decision has angered the National Farmers' Union, which claims cattle TB has already cost the industry millions.
Its president, Peter Kendell, told BBC News that the government had "ducked the issue" and that the NFU would be organising a protest outside parliament next week.
Some 4,000 herds were affected with TB in 2007, up nearly 18% on the previous year.
The NFU claims that if left unchecked, the disease would cost the government Ј1bn in compensation and control measures.
But ministers have instead accepted the scientific arguments of the Independent Scientific Group on TB in Cattle.
The ISG's analysis - an earlier and much larger study than Sir David's - concluded that culling badgers would not be economic.
And the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has in the past also said that public acceptance would be a factor in determining the government's policy.
The decision was welcomed by the prominent scientist Lord Krebs. He designed the experiments on the effectiveness of badger culling for the ISG.
"If this report is true then Hilary Benn has made the right decision," he said.
The ISG's analysis showed that sustained culling over a large area for five or six years might have some effect, "but even that is not clear cut", according to Lord Krebs.
He said: "It's not practical to carry out that kind of scorched-earth cull over a prolonged period for a policy that may not even work."
According to Lord Krebs, the incidence of TB in cattle is increasing very slowly, and he believes that the disease could be bought under control through better surveillance and biosecurity.
The announcement is sure to be welcomed by badger groups, who have fought a campaign against a mass cull.
(BBC)
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