Badger culling will end in England by 2029, the government has said.

Some culls under existing licences will continue until 2026, according to sources at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), but it is highly unlikely any new ones will be granted.

The National Farmers’ Union has been lobbying government to keep the badger cull until there is definitive proof bovine tuberculosis (bTB) can be stopped without killing badgers.

However, Defra ministers have said not enough research has been done in recent years to find out whether badgers carry the virus.