The controversial badger cull to halt the spread of a deadly disease in cattle has officially begun – but with little sign of any action.
More than 5,000 badgers can now be shot by trained marksmen during two pilot culls in the South West to reduce the spread of bovine TB in cattle.
A Defra spokesman was unable to confirm if any badgers were killed over the first weekend of the open season.
"It is up to the landowners to decide when over the next year animals are culled on their land," he said.
A coalition of groups opposed to the cull has put pressure on landowners not to allow shootings on their land.
Stop the Cull warned it may blacklist landowners who grant permission for teams to kill badgers in an attempt to disrupt the cull.
Jay Tiernan, a spokesman for Stop the Cull, said: "We are aiming to bring a stop to the cull and we are confident we can achieve that. In order to go ahead, the cull needs 70 per cent participation from landowners in the area so our plan is to put pressure on those landowners to stop them from taking part."
Tactics could involve, among other things, infiltration of farms, hoax phone calls, and playing loud heavy metal music to scatter badgers.
Mr Tiernan added: "We are prepared to dig up the dirt on these people and expose them if they do not agree to stop culling on their land.
"We don't want to be intimidating but we do want to put pressure on people and we are not afraid of taking these wealthy landowners on."
Thousands of people decked in black and white clothing marched on Westminster at the weekend to call for an end to plans for a badger cull.
Rock star Brian May led around 2,000 animal welfare supporters – many wearing cardboard badger masks – as they chanted "stop the cull".
May has also released The Badger Song in protest at the cull with the help of veteran actor Brian Blessed.
MPs will vote this week on whether they support the contentious cull as the disease continues to run rife in the Westcountry.
The pilot culls aim to ensure badgers can be killed humanely, with marksmen observed by independent experts to check they are killing the protected animal swiftly.
The Government has authorised and brought forward the cull as part of efforts to stop spiralling outbreaks of TB in dairy and beef herds.
A YouGov poll released on Friday showed 34% of people oppose a cull, 29% support the measure, while the remainder did not know or had no strong feelings.
