The government has expanded the badger cull by issuing licences to seven new areas of England, with operations set to begin in the autumn.
Natural England published on Tuesday (7 September) new licenses for regions that will undertake badger control operations.
Culling will now be permitted in zones in Hampshire, Berkshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and two parts of Shropshire.
Licence holders will carry out badger cull operations under a four year licence.
Bovine TB is one of the most difficult animal health challenges that the UK faces, causing trauma for farmers and costing taxpayers over £100m every year.
Figures show that over 27,000 cattle in England were slaughtered to tackle the disease over the course of the last year.
Defra Secretary George Eustice said recently that the badger cull had led to a 'significant reduction' in the disease.
However, he added that 'no one wants to continue the cull of a protected species indefinitely.'
"That is why we are now building on this progress by accelerating other elements of our strategy, including cattle vaccination and improved testing," Mr Eustice said.
It comes as Defra unveiled new measures to tackle bovine TB, including a move away from culls in favour of badger vaccination, increased cattle testing and the development of a cattle vaccine.
The government said it would develop a monitoring system to track the badger population and disease levels to help tackle the disease.
Meanwhile, TB cattle vaccination trials are currently underway in England and Wales as a result of a major breakthrough by UK scientists. The trials aim to deploy a cattle vaccine by 2025.
But the NFU said the cull had played an 'enormous role' in delivering successful results, pointing to figures which show a fall in bTB in cull areas of 51% after four years.
The union's deputy president, Stuart Roberts said: "This clearly shows that the badger culls are working and that it is essential to keep our focus on eradicating this dreadful disease and using every tool in the box to do so.
“A science and evidence-based approach must continue to drive government’s approach to TB eradication in cattle, at this critical time we cannot have eight years of progress undermined.
"Right now, the government should be particularly aware of the consequences of taking its foot off the gas when it comes to controlling a disease."
