A PILOT project of badger vaccination against bovine tuberculosis is to be trialled in Gloucestersrhire.

The five-year Defra-funded trial will involve catching all badgers in six TB hotspots across the UK.

It will focus on 50,000 acres of land around the Cheltenham and Gloucester area which will include the western part of the Cotswolds from including Andoversford, Guiting Power and Temple Guiting.

A Defra spokesman said many farmers had already signed up and work to survey potential sett sites had started.

"Work is under way in Gloucestershire. The trapping and jabbing will start in July," a Defra spokesperson said.

Not everyone is supportive of the vaccination programme.

South West National Farmers’ Union spokesperson, Ian Johnson said: "It is untried, untested and practically very difficult. In areas where TB has allowed to get out of control like Gloucestershire it would not be sufficient."

Gloucestershire consistently has the highest proportion in the UK of herds under restriction because bovine TB has been identified in cattle.

Pat Quinn, who farms near Naunton, said the idea was "ridiculous".

"I am not against vaccinating in principle but the whole thing is madness. They are not even going to test if the badgers have TB but are just going to try to catch them all."

Mrs Quinn has lost 15 head of cattle from a herd of 50 to TB and said she favoured a cull.

" We need to keep healthy badgers and get rid of diseased ones," she said. "The problem has been left to get out of control."

The new government has signalled that culling may be back on the agenda.

Secretary of State for the Environment Caroline Spelman said: "We will introduce a carefully managed and science-led policy of badger control in areas with high and persistent levels of bovine tuberculosis."

A Defra spokesperson confirmed that ‘badger control’ could include culling.

Gloucestershire NFU spokesperson Jan Rowe farms at Whittington and expects to be in the trial.

"I have reservations about the ability of a vaccine to deal with the problem but it is unlikely to do any harm," she said. "We have had TB in our herd since the 1980s and are under restriction at the moment. Personally I feel that culling is the only way we will make a significant difference."

• The Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester will be taking part in the trial by assessing feedback from farmers in the trial and gauging their confidence in the vaccine.

Prof Chris Gaskell, college principal, commented: "The objective is to discover what their (farmer's) perceptions are at present and if their views change over time. We know that the vaccine works in badgers but not yet if the use of it will control the spread of TB in cattle."