The new Labour government has pledged to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament as part of a newly launched eradication plan.

Work to end the cull will 'start immediately' and will be completed within five years, but existing culls will be honoured whilst new measures are rolled out, Defra said.

Launched by the department on August 30, the new bovine TB strategy will include the first badger population survey in over a decade.

A new national wildlife surveillance programme will also be launched, as the prevalence of TB in remaining badger populations 'is largely unknown'.

Defra said the development of a surveillance programme will provide an up-to-date understanding of disease in badgers and other wildlife such as deer.

Labour has also pledged to roll out badger vaccinations to create progressively healthier populations that are less susceptible to catching and transmitting TB.

In addition, work will commence on the development of a cattle vaccine, with the next stage of field trials to commence in the coming months.

The government has promised to co-design the new eradication strategy with farmers, as well as scientists and conservationists,

Speaking about the strategy, farming minister Daniel Zeichner said "It has placed dreadful hardship and stress on farmers who continue to suffer the loss of valued herds and has taken a terrible toll on our badger populations.

“Our comprehensive TB eradication package will allow us to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament and stop the spread of this horrific disease."

The government will also publish additional information about animal and herd-level bTB risk – for example, the date and type of the most recent TB test completed in the herd of origin of that animal and how long the animal has been in the herd.

This will be made available on ibTB – a free to access interactive map set up to help farmers and their vets understand the level of bovine TB in their area and manage the risks when purchasing cattle.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has welcomed the government’s announcement.

But the charity is calling for the government to bring an end to the badger cull far earlier than 2029.

RSPCA chief executive Chris Sherwood said the announcement was 'really welcome' and would mark 'a watershed moment in the fight' against bovine TB.

“We are concerned however, that badgers will still face up to another five years of being needlessly killed in the name of Bovine TB eradication.

“Bovine TB is an issue which is devastating to farming communities.

“While we are fully behind these new measures such as carrying out a badger population survey, analysing badger TB rates and putting more money into cattle and badger vaccinations, we are calling for an immediate halt to new culls and a reduction in badgers allowed to be killed in any of the licensed culls,” Sherwood said.

Over the past decade, 278,000 cattle have been compulsorily slaughtered and over 230,000 badgers have been killed in efforts to control the disease, costing taxpayers more than £100 million every year.

Sherwood said that the RSPCA fears that the population survey of badgers announced “will show depleted numbers of a protected species.

“We can’t wait another five years for that to happen.

“Science has already shown us that a major contributing factor to the spread of this disease is it passing from cow to cow, so solutions are also needed to focus much more on cattle and include more frequent and improved cattle testing, an improved test to identify infected cattle, better management of cattle movements, cattle vaccination and incentives to improve biosecurity in herds.

“Hopefully this announcement is a new dawn in the fight against Bovine Tuberculosis and we look forward to contributing to this aim,” the RSPCA chief executive said.

Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss welcomed a refreshed strategy, saying: “Bovine tuberculosis is one of the most difficult and prolonged animal disease challenges we face, causing devastation for farming communities.

“There is no single way to combat it. With the disease on a downward trajectory, we are at a crucial point.

"Working in collaboration with government and stakeholders will be the only way we achieve our target to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in England by 2038.”