The committee set up to review the science behind plans for a badger cull in Wales is expected to complete its evidence-gathering next week and produce a final report for the Welsh Government. The panel of experts will hold its last meeting on Friday 28 October and submit its findings to the Welsh government soon thereafter. image expired

Although the previous environment minister Ellin Jones gave plans for a badger cull in Wales the green light, on coming to power earlier this year the Labour government halted the plans pending a review of the science behind them. This was the second time plans had been delayed after passing through parliament; in 2010, government proposals for a badger cull were thwarted in Wales when a court ruled they were illegal.

Over the past year farming groups in Wales have badgered the government to reach a decision quickly. NFU Cymru’s deputy president, Stephen James this week railed against the Welsh Government, “We were told back in June by the Environment and Sustainability Minister, John Griffiths, that the group set up to peer review the scientific evidence base regarding the eradication of bovine TB in Wales would be established as quickly as possible to ensure the Wales TB eradication programme did not lose momentum.

“Here we are, coming to the end of October and we still have no confirmation of the timetable for completion of the review and we do not know when the Minister will make a statement on the next steps.”

However, cull opponents in Wales have pointed to the positive effects cattle control measures are having in the country; the measures have been in place for 18 months, since the plans for a 2010 cull were abandoned. They say the same measures were used with great success to reduce a bTB epidemic after the Second World War without resorting to killing wildlife.

Bovine TB is a serious problem in Wales, with nearly 700 cattle being lost to the disease each month. Since January 2010, nearly 12,000 cattle have been slaughtered prematurely because of bovine TB in the country.