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Forty thousand badgers face being slaughtered in the latest cull aimed at wiping out TB in cattle, the Government revealed today.

Marksmen will take aim at the creatures in 32 areas across 11 English counties, including two where the programme will take place for the first time.

A total of 40,892 face the death penalty under plans outlined by the Environment Department, which granted 11 new licences for shooting the animals.

The scheme has already been in operation in Dorset, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Staffordshire and Cumbria have been added to this year’s cull.

(Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)

A total of 19,724 badgers were killed last year, meaning a doubling of the death toll if all the creatures earmarked for culling are killed.

Badger Trust chief executive Dominic Dyer said: “By approving 11 new cull licences which now brings the number in England to 32 over 40,000 more badgers could be killed this autumn bringing the total killed since 2013 to over 75,000

“By 2020 over 150,000 are likely to have been killed as a result of the badger cull, pushing this protected species to verge of extinction in parts of Britain where it has inhabited since the Ice Age."

Experts blame badgers for fuelling the spread of TB in cattle.

Last year, more than 33,000 cows were slaughtered in England to control the disease.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Farming Minister George Eustice highlighted figures showing that in the two counties where culling first took place, outbreaks of TB in cattle had halved.

He said in a Commons statement: “In Gloucestershire the incidence rate has dropped from 10.4% before culling began to 5.6% in the 12 months following the fourth cull. While in Somerset it has dropped from 24% to 12%.”

Chief Vet Christine Middlemiss said: “Taking comprehensive action to prevent bovine TB infection of cattle from the reservoir of disease in local badger populations is an essential part of the government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate the disease in England.

“Proactive badger control is currently the best available option.

“Supported by tighter cattle controls including in those areas seeing a reduction in cattle-badger-cattle infection, improved biosecurity and vaccination, the licensing of further areas is necessary to realise disease control benefits across England.”