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Protesters have been out trying to find signs of the cull in process
More than 100 anti badger-cull protestors spent the night in west Gloucestershire aiming to witness or disrupt the government pilot scheme.
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) refused to confirm the cull had started in the county.
But BBC West of England correspondent John Kay said all the indications were that the shooting of badgers had begun.
Gloucestershire Police said its operation to keep the peace was under way.
About 5,000 badgers are to be shot over six weeks in a bid to curb bovine TB.
The pilot cull got under way in Somerset last week, but no-one involved will say how many badgers have been shot or killed.
- Badgers are being shot by marksmen in the west of England as part of measures to protect cattle from bovine tuberculosis (TB)
- The marksmen will shoot the badgers at night after putting food such as peanuts outside their setts. This method has not been formally tested before
- 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
- According to one newspaper report, cage-trapping badgers for vaccination (or shooting) costs about £2,500 per hectare, whereas shooting them as they run freely costs about £200
The culls aim to assess if culling can be done effectively, safely and humanely, with plans to roll out the scheme more widely in areas which are hotspots for TB in cattle.
Charles Mann, chairman of the NFU in Gloucestershire, said tackling TB in wildlife made sense.
"We're not exterminating badgers, just reducing their numbers so we have healthy cattle and badgers," said Mr Mann.
Anti-cull protesters have vowed to disrupt the shootings.
They want the emphasis to be on vaccines and tighter on-farm and cattle movement measures.
Tony Dean, chairman of the Gloucestershire Badger Group, said: "They've started in Somerset, and [the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs] say they are having 'good results', but no-one is coming out with any figures."
Drew Pratten, of the Stop the Cull protest group, said it was confident it could prevent the cull taking place, adding: "We're as ready as we will ever be to stop it by getting between the setts and the pre-baiters."
A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: "Our role will be operationally independent, impartial, even-handed and fair to everyone whatever their views, interest or involvement in the pilot scheme."
Initially the pilot will not examine how successful culling has been in reducing the spread of TB to livestock.
Campaigners have fought the plans since the test areas were revealed last year. They argue a cull is unnecessary, inhumane and ineffective in controlling the disease.
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