Badger cull licences for Somerset and Gloucestershire issued 27 February 2013 Last updated at 11:46 Badger culls are set to go ahead later this year after final licence conditions were met, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has said. The pilot culls, in Gloucestershire and West Somerset, were postponed amid fears they could not be carried out effectively in autumn last year. Ministers want to hold a pilot badger cull to halt the spread of tuberculosis to cattle. Opponents, including the RSPCA, say that it is inhumane. Mr Paterson confirmed the cull at the National Farmers Union (NFU) annual conference. He also announced a reserve pilot will also be prepared in Dorset. Under the plans, badgers will be shot in the open without first being trapped in cages, which is current practice. "I am determined that there are no further delays this year," Mr Paterson said. That is why we have taken the sensible step with the farming industry to elect a reserve area that can be called upon should anything happen to prevent culling in Somerset or Gloucester.