Axing the badger cull in England and Wales will save more than £120 million, according to the Labour Party.
"A Labour Defra will cancel the Government’s ineffective and inhumane badger culls which have cost almost £10 million in the first year that two pilot culls have," the Party said.
"The Tory led management of Defra has been characterised by waste, incompetence, and storing up costs for the future."
"Millions of pounds have been squandered on a badger cull which experts advise will make no meaningful contribution to eradicating bovine TB."
The Conservatives said the government would continue with the badger cull if they won the election.
"We will not let up, whatever complaints we get from protesters groups. We are in it for the long haul and we will not walk away," Environment Secretary Liz Truss said.
"Bovine TB is the greatest threat to our beef and dairy industry, endangering our food security. That’s why this Government…will take the difficult decisions to deal with this disease.
"Our twenty five year strategy includes cattle movement controls, vaccination in the edge area and culling where the disease is rife. This strategy has worked in Australia and it’s working in New Zealand and Ireland. And I am grateful to the NFU for their help on the strategy and on our TB Expert Advisory Group."
Maria Eagle, Labour's Shadow Environment Secretary, said: "The Tory-led management of Defra has been characterised by waste, storing up costs for the future and incompetence.
"Millions of pounds have been wasted on a badger cull which experts advise will make no meaningful contribution to eradicating bovine TB.
"This Tory-led Government never should have pressed ahead with these ineffective and inhumane badger culls when they knew from the start that this policy had the potential to make the problem of bovine TB worse.
"Instead of ignoring the overwhelming evidence the Government must work with scientists, wildlife groups and farmers to develop an alternative strategy to get the problem of bovine TB under control."
Humane Society International said the badger culls had been 'very expensive, cruel and ineffective'.
"Liz Truss cuts an increasingly lonely figure in continuing to defend it," said Claire Bass, Human Society International's Executive Director.
"Almost unanimous scientific opinion describes the cull as a failure, including Sir David Attenborough, Lord Krebs and even the Chair of Natural England's Scientific Advisory Committee. This cull fails our wildlife by subjecting badgers to inhumane shooting; it fails farmers by promising a solution to TB that simply doesn’t work; and it fails the public by wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. The rational, scientific and apolitical solution to bovine TB is happening right now in Wales: a combination of badger vaccination, improved farm biosecurity and stricter cattle movement measures. With the election just weeks away the government has a short window of opportunity to reverse this disastrous strategy, and win back some public trust in its countryside policies.”
But the National Farmers' Union said farmers are losing their livestock to the disease and action needed to be taken.
NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “Bovine TB continues to devastate farming family businesses across large parts of the country and it is essential that we do everything we can to control and eradicate it. Last year more than 32,000 cattle were slaughtered because of this disease and more than 4,700 additional farming families saw their businesses affected by it.
“In areas where the disease is endemic, like the South West, action must be taken to control it in badgers if we are to stop reinfection occurring and have any chance of wiping it out. This has been acknowledged by the Government and is reflected in its 25-year TB eradication strategy.
“Both cull companies have worked closely with Defra and Natural England to ensure that the recommendations made by the Independent Expert Panel to improve the delivery of operations following last year’s culls have been implemented.
“The Chief Vet has said culling over a four-year period in both pilot areas will have an impact on disease control and we remain confident that these pilots will help to deliver a reduction of TB in cattle. It is vital that they are allowed to be successfully completed so they can deliver the maximum benefits.”
