An epidemic of bovine TB in parts of the country led the Government to announce last year a three-month consultation. They asked people to say whether, in a bid to reduce the disease, badgers should be culled in bTB hotspots-chiefly in the south west-and whether gassing, snaring or shooting should be the chosen method if a cull went ahead.

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The consultation closed last month and it is reported that Defra received around 36,000 responses with the vote 9-1 against a cull.
Warwickshire Badger Group wrote to local MPs looking for additional support for the campaign against the cull.
Kenilworth-based committee member Michael Hughes said: "Thousands of healthy badgers will die needlessly if the cull goes ahead. Cattle not badgers are the problem. The disease is spread from beast to beast and herd to herd through literally millions of cattle movements around the country.
"Testing for bTB is too infrequent, the live skin test is inefficient as it picks up only about 70 per cent of the infected cattle and for years farmers have been allowed to sell and buy cattle without first establishing that they are TB-free. Little wonder the disease has spiralled.
"The way forward is better testing, more frequent testing and pre-movement testing, a move the Government has at last introduced.
"The proposed cull as futile, counter productive, impractical and unjustified."
But he was disappointed when Jeremy Wright said he is persuaded that bTB would be eradicated only if a massive regional cull of badgers was carried out.
Mr Wright said: "My view is that I think Bovine TB is a huge problem, potentially disastrous for the agricultural industry and the countryside generally and we have to take measures to deal with it.
"The evidence I have seen persuades me that a cull of badgers is necessary - not eradicating badgers as a species. One would hope and expect measures taken will be effective but as humane as can be."
The Warwickshire Badger Group is urging people concerned about the fate of badgers to write to their MP.