THE baby badgers depicted last week in Baz's Review cartoon can now rest safe with thousands of their fellow creatures after the Government abruptly abandoned its plans to cull badgers in the Forest and elsewhere in Gloucestershire.

Environment Secretary Owen Patterson announced on Tuesday afternoon that the cull would not now go ahead – because there are just too many badgers.

In a statement to the House, the Minister said that the logistics of the cull had not been properly assessed, and that the sheer numbers of badgers in the 'target area' was just too many for the cull to reach the 70 per cent reduction in badger numbers required to test theories about reducing the transmission of bovine tuberculosis to cattle.

The badger number for West Gloucestershire was given as 3,800 animals. This would have meant the total number for slaughter would have been as high as 2,500 badgers.

As jubilant anti-cull activists stood down their preparations to intercept shooters, it was in the knowledge that the announcement was not that the cull would be cancelled, but that it was to be 'deferred' until next year, probably in June. But many hoped it would be abandoned altogether.

Anthea Marchant of the Forest Badger Patrol group said: "This is a reprieve for the county's badger population, but not the end of the fight to save them from this senseless slaughter.

•The NFU says Tuesday's Government announcement delaying the two pilot badger culls "was exceptionally difficult but on balance is responsible and right."

NFU President Peter Kendall said he understood the news would come as a devastating blow to farmers who are desperate for a solution to the cycle of reinfection of TB in their beef and cattle herds.

However a number of factors made the autumn cull impractical.