PILOT badger culls aimed at tackling bovine TB will continue this year, but will not be extended to other areas.

An independent report found they could be conducted safely and that the majority of badgers were killed humanely, but the pilots did not kill as many badgers as hoped.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson told MPs that the second year of the pilots in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset would go ahead with changes made to improve the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of culling.

The changes will be monitored to assess their impact before deciding whether to extend the programme to other areas next year.

The report found that controlled shooting – shooting of free-running badgers – could not deliver the level of culling needed to reduce TB in cattle.

Less than 48 per cent of badgers in the Somerset cull were killed, and less than 39 per cent in Gloucestershire. Scientific research suggests 70 per cent is needed to reduce TB in livestock.

The independent expert group said the number of badgers who were not shot and killed quickly should be less than five per cent, but it estimated between seven per cent and 23 per cent took longer than five minutes to die.

However, it found controlled shooting could be carried out safely even if protesters were in the vicinity.

Mr Paterson said: “The fouryear culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire are pilots and we always expected to learn lessons from them.

“It is crucial we get this right.

That is why we are taking a responsible approach, accepting recommendations from experts to make the pilots better.

“Doing nothing is not an option.

Bovine TB is a terrible disease, which is devastating our cattle and dairy industries and causing misery for many people in rural communities.

“We need to do everything we can, as set out in our strategy, to make England TB-free.”

Mr Paterson set out more measures including tough cattle movement controls and a grant-funded scheme for badger vaccination projects in areas around the edge of disease hotspots.

Opponents of the cull criticised Mr Owen for not abandoning the pilots. Tory MP Tracey Crouch described the culls as “cruel, indiscriminate and ineffective”.

Brian May, Queen guitarist and prominent opponent, said it was almost impossible to conceive how the Government could appoint an independent expert panel “and then, receiving the panels decision that the cull is both inhumane and ineffective, still carry on the killing”.

The British Veterinary Association, which supported the pilots, criticised Mr Paterson for failing to consult it and others before making an announcement.

President Robin Hargreaves said it would examine concerns about the humaneness and efficacy raised by the report before deciding its response.

“We have made it clear that we can only support badger culling if the method used is humane, safe and effective,” he said.

Meurig Raymond, NFU president, was bitterly disappointed the culls were not being rolledout – 30 other areas had expressed interest.

He said: “We killed more than 32,000 cattle across England and Wales last year. We do have to eradicate this disease within the cattle herd or otherwise we could end up destroying the cattle industry, particularly on the western side of the country.”