THE RSPCA and vets have both urged the Welsh Government to move forward with caution over its plan to introduce targeted culling of test-positive badgers in areas where it believes they are contributing to the persistence of disease in chronic herd breakdowns.

West Wales, heart of the dairy industry and an area where TB outbreak have been amiong the most serious, is likely to be in the front line of any targeted culling.

An RSPCA spokesman said: "We welcome the Welsh Government’s decision to not pursue an England-style cull of badgers, which has been little more than a costly distraction to the ultimate goal of eradicating TB. The focus on cattle-based measures from the Welsh Government is also critically important, and very welcome.

"However - as part of this new tailored response to tackling the disease - we are deeply concerned at any moves to kill badgers unnecessarily. As we digest these new proposals, we will be seeking firm assurances that badgers will not be unnecessarily culled and how the Welsh Government intends to ensure this.

"It must not be forgotten that Wales has been making excellent progress - via cattle controls - in reducing the number of herd breakdowns, with new Tb outbreaks at a 12 year low and 95 per cent of herds TB free.

"Better cattle husbandry, increased levels of testing, improved biosecurity, and the prudent use of vaccination should be at the forefront of Wales' approach to the eradication of this disease.

“We will continue to campaign for a humane, scientifically-supported and effective method to tackle this horrible disease.”

Sarah Carr, president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Welsh branch, said: “We fully support the introduction of a regionalised approach to eliminating bovine TB in Wales. TB incidence and prevalence are not uniformly distributed throughout the country and so it makes sense to take a more targeted approach in deploying strict cattle controls and wildlife measures.

“However, while more robust plans to tackle the wildlife reservoir of the disease are welcome, we would urge caution over moving forward with a trap, test, remove policy. We know there are limitations in the diagnostic tests that are currently available, which could result in infected badgers being released. We are currently awaiting the results of a research project underway in Northern Ireland and it is too early to draw conclusions from that work.”