Badger culling is spreading across England — even though experts have warned that killing the animals in an attempt to curb bovine tuberculosis (TB) flies in the face of science.

The scheme has expanded to 21 areas and was given the green light by Environment Minister Michael Gove earlier this week.

Defra says that around 33,000 badgers would be killed over the next eight weeks in areas including Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

But the number dead by the end of this year will be closer to 50,000 once badgers killed before this new phase of the scheme are included, according to the Badger Trust charity.

Leading scientists say that culling has not shown to be of any benefit in preventing bovine TB.

The Wildlife Trust has pointed out that the primary route of infection is cattle-to-cattle contact and the government should put resources into speeding up the development of an effective cattle vaccine, among other measures.

Badger Trust CEO Dominic Dyer told the Star that the number of badgers killed in the government scheme could reach 100,000 by 2022.

An “absurd” £40 million was spent on killing the shy creatures last year, he said — and a further £50m could be spent on the cull next year.

The Labour Party has pledged to end the cull.

Mr Dyer said: “The animal rights vote is a strong and powerful issue.”

As part of its strategy to tackle TB in cattle, the government claims it is also restarting a badger vaccination programme to stop the spread of the disease to new areas.