Badger cull in Dorset 'increasingly likely' We need to make sure that the law is complied with but that people still feel in their communities that they're safe and this doesn't impact too much on the fear of crime. The pilot badger cull in Gloucestershire ended three weeks early after officials conceded defeat in their attempt to hit targets even after they were significantly reduced. The controversial cull was initially scheduled to last six weeks and was aimed at reducing local badger populations by 70 per cent with the aim of reducing the spread of tuberculosis to cattle. During that period just 30 per cent of badgers in Gloucestershire were killed, leading to an eight week extension and a lowering of the culling target to 58 per cent. The Somerset pilot also failed to meet its target despite a three-week extension. The pilot culls were designed to test whether shooting of free-running badgers at night, rather than trapping them, could humanely and effectively kill enough to prevent the spread of TB. But campaign groups have warned repeatedly that killing fewer than 70 per cent could have the opposite effect because it will encourage surviving badgers to spread across a wider area. A Defra spokesperson said: "Ministers have always been clear that no decision will be made on the future roll out of badger cull licences before the independent panel of experts have submitted their report on the pilots."