Plans for a badger cull in Wales are on hold while a review looks into the best ways of tackling bovine TB. The Welsh assembly planned to start killing badgers in an "intensive action area" in north Pembrokeshire to try to combat the disease.

On Tuesday, the Welsh environment minister, John Griffiths, said: "I have commissioned a review of the scientific evidence base regarding the eradication of bovine TB in Wales. There will be no cull of badgers in the intensive action area while the review is being carried out."

The Badger Trust welcomed the move but said it was determined "to take whatever legal steps were needed to safeguard this protected species against unjustified slaughter".