A vaccine for bovine tuberculosis should be 'a priority' campaigners say - as more than 2,000 badgers are set to be culled in Dorset.

It comes as new figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request shared with the Badger Trust reveal that 2,169 badgers will be shot in Dorset this year.

The trust says more than 230,000 badgers have been killed in England since the cull began in 2013.

Badgers carry bovine tuberculosis (bTB) - a highly infectious disease - and this can be passed onto cattle which can have a devastating impact on livestock farmers.

However, wildlife campaigners say the main ways cattle contract the disease is via cow-to-cow contact, and they suggest badger culling is 'ineffective'. 

Dorset Wildlife Trust is 'very keen' to see the eradication of bTB - but says badger culling 'is not the solution'.

A spokesperson said: "We have a great deal of sympathy for farmers who lose stock as a result of bTB and we are acutely aware of the problems and costs of this disease in Dorset.

"We are very keen to see the eradication of bTB and want to see an effective solution based on scientific advice and evidence.

"However, badger culling is not the solution; scientific evidence demonstrates that culling is likely to be ineffective in fighting the disease and risks making the problem even worse.

"We were therefore pleased to see the Labour Party manifesto including a commitment to 'work with farmers and scientists on measures to eradicate Bovine TB to end the ineffective badger cull'. 

"The primary route of bTB infection is via cow-to-cow contact and a vaccine for cattle should be a priority."

Peter Hambly, chief executive of the Badger Trust, said: “A quarter of a million badgers killed for a mainly cattle-to-cattle spread disease is the greatest assault on nature in Britain in our lifetimes. 

"The new government admitted the cull is ineffective in its election manifesto,  so we are calling on the Minister for Nature to stop the slaughter that is happening right now.  This slaughter should not continue on her watch."

The Badger Trust has called a National Day of Action Against the cull outside Parliament on September 3. 

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) was contacted for comment.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw has reportedly warned the Labour government about the risks of removing badger culling before proven alternatives are ready.