 'The Government has finally admitted they want 2022 to be the record year for badger deaths from their senseless cull. 'Over 67,000 badgers have been marked for slaughter this year, with massive new areas intensively culled for the first time - including in Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. 'We already know parts of the South West are empty of badgers; the Government seems intent on wiping out this iconic mammal.' Some 174,517 badgers have been killed since 2013 under efforts to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis. Cull supporters blame badgers for fuelling the spread of TB across the countryside - and 26,000 cows were slaughtered in England in the past 12 months because of the infection. Tens of thousands of cattle are killed because of bovine TB ( Getty Images) A total of 33,687 badgers were culled last year through){kind=link}
The Government has revealed the maximum number of badgers that can be slaughtered this season in efforts to curb TB in cows
Tens of thousands of badgers face being slaughtered in the coming weeks as the Tory-backed cull is widened.
Up to 67,801 badgers could be killed this year as a further 11 zones in England have been added to the programme.
Campaigners fear it could lead to badgers becoming extinct in certain areas – and take the overall cull toll beyond 200,000.
The latest scheme includes 21 counties: Gloucestershire, Somerset, Cornwall, Devon, Herefordshire, Cheshire, Wiltshire, Staffordhisre, Cumbria, Avon, Shropshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Worcestershire.