A controversial badger cull in Somerset is under way despite protests, the National Farmers' Union has confirmed.
About 5,000 badgers are expected to be killed in controlled shootings over six weeks in Somerset and Gloucestershire, in an attempt to control TB in cattle.
Supporters say the cull is necessary to tackle bovine TB, which can be spread from infected badgers, but opponents say it is inhumane and ineffective.
The RSPCA said it was "saddened" and anti-cull protesters have held a vigil.
It is understood the cull in Gloucestershire will start later this week.
In a letter to members, National Farmers' Union President Peter Kendall said: "I am writing to let you know that the first pilot badger control operations have begun.
"This is an important step not just for cattle farmers but for the whole farming industry.
"I know that many of you reading this will have suffered the misery of dealing with TB on farm - some of you for decades - and I hope now you will feel that something is finally being done to stem the cycle of infection between cattle and badgers.
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Jeremy Cooke reports on a night-time vigil amid the pilot cull
"I hope that when time shows that these culls have reduced TB in cattle - just as has happened in Ireland - that even more people will understand that while sad, these culls are absolutely necessary."
'Completely unscientific'But an activist from Forthampton near Tewkesbury, who would only give her name as Lynne, said the cull was "utterly unacceptable" and described it as the "extermination of the badger on British soil".
England's badger cull
- Badgers are being shot by marksmen in the South West as part of measures to protect cattle from bovine tuberculosis (TB)
- Badgers are thought to pass on the disease to cattle through their urine, faeces or through droplet infection, in farmyards or in pastures
- However, the extent of their role in the spread of bovine TB is not clear since the cows can also pass on the disease
- Defra scientists estimate that culling badgers could reduce the number of new cases of TB in herds by 12% to 16% over nine years
"We're planning a call-out of the whole country and expect people from all walks of life to come down to do all that they can to save lives," she said.
"There will be a mix of both interfering with the cull and protest walks wearing fluorescent vests."
Lynne said she did not believe the cull represented the democratic point of view and that it was "completely unscientific".
"Whether domestic or wild, they have a right to live as much as we do," she said.
"When badgers flee the cull zone, infected badgers may go into free zones."
Following the NFU announcement, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said: "We know that despite the strict controls we already have in place, we won't get on top of this terrible disease until we start dealing with the infection in badgers as well as in cattle. That's the clear lesson from Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the USA.
"That is why these pilot culls are so important. We have to use every tool in the box because TB is so difficult to eradicate and it is spreading rapidly.
"If we had a workable vaccine we would use it.
"A vaccine is at least 10 years off."
'Sensible policies'Mr Paterson denied suggestions from anti-cull campaigners that the government was simply trying to appease the farming community.
"I've been looking at this since 2000 - and the bacterium spreads from animals to humans," he said.
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Owen Paterson MP: "It is pointless vaccinating existing diseased animals"
"We're following successful and sensible policies in other countries.
"In the Republic of Ireland the disease was rocketing until they began to cull. Now there's a significant reduction in the disease.
"I want to end up with healthy cattle living alongside healthy wildlife."
Dominic Dyer, of Care for the Wild, which opposes the cull, said the badger population like any other would go through good and bad times.
"There's no scientific or economic justification for the cull and it may make the spread (of TB) worse not better.
"This is killing without protection - they're not even testing (the culled animals) for TB and they're only monitoring the cull of a small number.
"It's an absolute scandal."
'Misguided attempt'The RSPCA said it was "deeply saddened to learn that the pilot badger cull has begun and that hundreds of animals are now being shot in parts of Somerset and Gloucestershire".
"Start Quote
End Quote Dominic Dyer Care for the WildIt is an absolute scandal"
Chief executive Gavin Grant referred to the cull as a "misguided attempt to control bovine TB in cattle" and said the organisation was "seriously concerned that the methods being used to kill the badgers are not humane".
"As we speak thousands of innocent animals are being culled in our countryside - and we do not know the extent of their suffering or how humane the methods being used to kill them are.
"It is very likely that many of them are lying injured, suffering a painful death.
"The most tragic thing is that this suffering is so needless.
"Science has shown that this cull is not the answer to bovine TB in cattle. In fact, it could make things a lot worse.
"Vaccination and better bio-security are the only sustainable and true ways forward."
High-velocity riflesPolice officers were earlier sent to parts of Gloucestershire to "provide reassurance" after speculation the cull was imminent.
And Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Nick Gargan said his force had been preparing for the start of the cull for some time.
"There's been a good relationship between Avon and Somerset Constabulary and our neighbours Gloucestershire Police, as well as the Home Office and Defra," he said.
"It's their call not ours, but we understand we have a supporting role in ensuring that this democratically-elected government can push its programme forward... and similarly to ensure that people who want to protest within the law are able to do so."
The cull will involve the animals being shot in the open by marksmen using high-velocity rifles. The badgers will not be trapped in cages first.
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