The culling of badgers in England could begin in three weeks' time, according to sources.
The government's environment advisory body Natural England has issued a provisional culling licence to a consortium of landowners in Gloucestershire.
The cull is intended to control the spread of TB in cattle.
A second provisional license will be issued in the next few days to farmers in Somerset.
Both groups will then have to show that they can pay for the culling and shoot them in sufficient numbers before full licenses are granted.
BBC News has been told that the full licences could be issued in three weeks and intensive culling could begin immediately.
The culls will be monitored by an independent group for a period of six weeks. If the body is satisfied that the culls are effective and humane it will advise ministers to continue the trials for four years.
This would pave the way for further applications. Natural England will issue a maximum of 10 licences each year - with future culls.
Former science advisor Prof Robert Watson: 'Badger culling alone not a solution'
The culls are intended to reduce TB in cattle by some 16% over nine years in the immediate area. Across England though the effect is much smaller, around 5%.
According to Prof Sir Robert Watson, a former science adviser to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is overseeing the process, culling alone will not solve the problem.
"Culling won't solve the problem nationally (across England)," he told BBC News in a recent interview.
"But farmers in Devon, Cornwall and Gloucestershire are arguing that it can get between a 16% and 20% reduction which they think is significant and that they are willing to pay for."
The culls are paid for by local groups of farmers and carried out by private contractors. Prof Watson said that he himself questioned whether the cost of the culls would be economically worthwhile.
"I would say the economics is very close as to whether it is worth it. But the government has made a decision that (it should be tried if farmers are willing to fund it)," he said.
"The question (then) is: 'Is it a significant effect? Is it cost effective? Is it socially and ethically appropriate?"
Continue reading the main storyThe pilot areas
- West Gloucestershire pilot area description: mainly in the county of Gloucestershire, predominantly within the council districts of the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury, and parts lie within the districts of Wychavon, Malvern Hills and the south east part of the county of Herefordshire. The area does not include the public forest estate in the Forest of Dean.
- West Somerset pilot area description: located in the county of Somerset. The application area predominantly lies within the council district of West Somerset and part lies within the district of Taunton Deane.
- Source: Natural England
Animal welfare and wildlife campaigners have opposed the cull, which will allow wild badgers to be shot when they come out at night, but lost their fight in the High Court last week.
Defra says the action is necessary to protect cattle from bovine TB, which leads to the slaughter of thousands of cattle each year.
Defra Minister David Heath said: "Our priority has always been to ensure that any culling of badgers is carried out in a safe, humane and effective way.
"The licence for Gloucestershire issued by Natural England today meets all the strict criteria we imposed, and the pilot in this area will help us assess the effectiveness of controlled shooting before we look at a wider roll out to control the spread of bovine TB in cattle.
"No one wants to kill badgers but the science is clear that we will not get on top of this disease without tackling it in both wildlife and cattle."
Plans to begin culling in Wales were recently abandoned in favour of a vaccination policy. There are no proposals to cull badgers in Scotland, where TB incidence is low.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19623931#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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