The UK Government yesterday ruled out a cull of badgers to tackle the rising toll of TB in cattle.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told the Commons having a cull could make the disease worse and he was not prepared to take that risk.
In a statement to MPs, he said vaccination would, instead, be made a priority, with an extra £20million invested over the next three years.
A Bovine TB Partnership Group will also be set up to develop a “joint plan” to tackle the disease.
Mr Benn acknowledged his decision would be met with disappointment and anger by farmers but said there was no quick or easy solution.
The National Farmers' Union was reported to be taking legal advice after a leak of the government's decision last week, warning it would be “disastrous news for farms devastated by TB”.
Last year nearly 3,200 new TB incidents were recorded and 18,543 cattle slaughtered in England.
After a 10-year culling trial, Independent Scientific Group (ISG) concluded reactive badger culling in areas hit by TB made the problem worse, while proactive culling on a wider scale produced only marginal benefits.
Having listened to a range of views from farmers, scientists and vets, Mr Benn said he had decided “that while such a cull might work, it might also not work. “It could make the disease worse if it was not sustained over time or delivered effectively – and public opposition, including unwillingness by landowners to take part, would render it more difficult.”
Mr Benn added: “The House is united in its determination to overcome Bovine TB and, as much as we would wish it, there is no quick or easy way.”
Shadow rural affairs minister Jim Paice said ministers had “effectively given up” on controlling the spread of TB.
A total of 28,000 cattle were slaughtered last year, Mr Paice said, and figures to the end of April showed that Britain was “on course” for 40,000 to be killed.
He added: “Badgers with TB die a nasty, lingering death. They are evicted from setts and wander round the country spreading disease. “Surely it is in the interests of a healthy badger population as well as a healthy cattle population that we tackle this from all angles.”
Mr Benn denied that the government had given up on control, and defended the decision to establish the partnership group.
It was the same model as that being used to tackle Bluetongue, which was proving successful, he said.
Tory Michael Jack, chairman of the environment, food and rural affairs committee, said the statement would provoke “anger” in hotspot areas and “fear” in areas where TB had yet to arrive.
Dr Julia Wrathall, head of RSPCA farm animal science, said: “We share the farming industry’s desire to combat bovine TB, but – as the minister stated today – there is no quick and easy solution.”
The British Veterinary Association expressed disappointment, but no surprise, at the government’s decision.
In Lords exchanges later, Labour ex-minister Lord Sewel criticised ministers for letting “public acceptability” determine their policy on tackling bovine TB.
Lord Sewel, who chairs the Lords EU sub-committee on environment and agriculture, said: “Surely science and risk assessment is the better way of dealing with this issue than introducing the concept of public acceptability, which is extremely woolly.”
Food and farming minister Lord Rooker said badger culling would have had an effect in reducing cattle TB.