THE Gwent Badger Group has said there is no chance of the badger cull spreading to Wales amid cries from NFU Cyrmu to scrap the vaccination project.

Steve Clark, of Chepstow, has been a member of the Gwent Badger Group for 25 years and said: "Vaccination is the way forward."

Wales is currently in the second year of a five year plans by the Welsh Assembly Government to trap and vaccinate badgers. The project is only operating in the Intensive Action Area in Carmarthenshire, but there are plans to extend the vaccination to other areas of Wales, where landowners and trusts will be offered grants to take part.

Mr Clark, who is also director of the national charity, Badger Trust, said: "It's a way forward because one of the biggest problems they have with culling badgers is animal displacement. New infected animals will come into the area you have just cleared."

In the first year of the scheme, 1500 badgers were vaccinated. Mr Clark believes Westminster's decision is purely political. He said: "Westminster feels something has to be done but is reluctant to do it themselves, so has handed it over to the farmers. I fear there are some farmers in Wales that would welcome the cull rather than vaccination. But whatever action is taken, this is not going to be a quick fix. there's nothing that's going to cure this overnight."

Speaking at the Monmouthshire show today (WEDS) Stephen James, NFU Cymru Deputy President, condemned the vaccination scheme and said: "We know it has cost over £662 to vaccinate each badger in the first year of the vaccination programme and vaccination will need to be repeated annually over a five year period.

He called on the Welsh Government to follow Westminster's lead and said: "NFU Cymru is using the show in Monmouthshire, a TB hotspot, to ask the Welsh Government and the Minister for Natural Resources and Food to back Welsh farmers and back a comprehensive TB eradication programme that will deliver a healthy countryside with healthy cattle and healthy badgers."