Nearly 34,000 badgers were culled by trained marksmen last autumn as part of the government's efforts to tackle the spread of bovine TB.
Natural England has revealed that a total of 33,687 badgers were culled in 2021 as part of its ongoing campaign to combat the devastating disease.
Control operations, lasting at least six weeks, took place in 61 control areas in England between 31 August and 2 November 2021.
As in previous years, Natural England monitored the progress in each area, mainly situated across the Midlands and southern counties.
The levels of contractor shooting effort, number of cage-traps set and number of badgers removed were recorded on a daily basis.
This provided Natural England with regular information on the numbers of badgers removed, the amount of effort deployed by each control company and its spatial distribution.
Natural England's chief scientist, Dr Tim Hill said: "Industry-led licensed badger control continues to deliver the level of effectiveness required by the policy to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.
"Operations across all areas were carried out to agreed standards of public safety, which is a reflection of quality of training that contractors received and the assessments they had to pass"
Dr Hill added that contractors continued to show "high levels of discipline and compliance" with the best practice guide.
"The level of accuracy of controlled shooting compares favourably with previous years and with other wildlife control activities," he said.
Bovine TB remains one of the greatest animal health threats to the UK, causing devastation for farmers and rural communities.
In 2020-21, figures show that more than 27,000 cattle in England had to be slaughtered to tackle the disease. The average cost of a bTB breakdown on a farm is £34,000.
Despite this, wildlife groups continue to demand an end to the cull, with the Badger Trust warning that badgers could become 'extinct' in some counties.
The charity said the number of animals culled between 31 August and 2 November 2021 was 'nauseating' and 'appalling'.
Peter Hambly, executive director said: “With scant evidence that badgers spread bTB to cattle, this assault on a much-loved wild animal is reaching catastrophic proportions and needs to stop now."
