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Although further consultation is needed before a widespread cull is green-lighted, the Government has plans for two pilot culls to test the method of ‘controlled shooting’ free-running badgers. The plans are highly controversial, as critics, including Lord Krebs, the scientist who devised and oversaw the randomised badger cull trials which provided much of the evidence available on badger culling and bTB, say the solution could be at best a waste of money and at worst counter-productive, if the killing drives badgers further afield. Krebs has stated that it would take nine or ten years to achieve a reduction of just 12-16 per cent in bTB cases.

Cull plans are 'bad for farmers, badgers and taxpayers.'

Furthermore, critics point out that the ‘controlled shooting’ method, which is less expensive than the ‘trap and shoot’ approach, has never before been tested. Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh explained, “The Government’s plans have been criticised by leading scientists as an untested solution which may increase the problem, as badgers wander further afield once shooting begins. The Government’s own impact assessment states that ‘costs exceed expected monetised benefits’.”

The Labour MPs behind the new campaign believe the government is approaching the bTB problem in the wrong way as the Coalition abandoned several vaccine trials started by the previous government. Mrs Creagh said, "Bovine TB is a terrible disease but the government's plans to cull badgers are bad for farmers, bad for badgers and bad for the taxpayer.

"We need a science-led policy to manage cattle movements and develop a vaccine to tackle TB in badgers and cattle. Instead, the Tory-led government has reduced the number of vaccine trials Labour commissioned to just one."

Labour has written to 25,000 of its supporters who were involved in previous countryside campaigns and encouraged them to lobby their MP on the issue. It has also set up a website for cull opponents to register their support. The party's moves will also stir contention as the cull has been doggedly supported by many farming groups.

As well as opposing the science behind the cull, the campaign seeks to highlight its unpopularity. Numerous polls have shown that the majority of the public in town and country oppose the cull, with a BBC pole in June revealing 63 per cent were against a cull and a government consultation last month revealing 69 per cent opposed the idea.

The estimated cost of bTB to UK agriculture is around £100 million per year. In 2010, 25,000 cattle were slaughtered for TB control in England. Following the Welsh Assembly elections in May, the incoming Environment Minister John Griffiths announced the suspension of plans for a badger cull in Wales pending a review of the science and tactics.

Due to the certainty of legal challenges if the cull is approved and the breeding pattern of badgers, a cull will not now go ahead until summer 2013 at the earliest.

The ‘Can the Cull’ website, www.NoBadgerCull.com, can be viewed here.