The Badger Trust appeals against cull decision

The government says cattle tuberculosis costs the UK more than £100m per year

The Badger Trust has lodged an appeal after failing in a legal bid to block a badger cull in England.

A judge earlier ruled against the trust which is claiming that the government, which wants a cull to help combat cattle tuberculosis, acted illegally.

The trust said it was <link> <caption>appealing on three grounds</caption> <url href="http://www.badger.org.uk/Content/Home.asp" platform="highweb"/> </link> , including one that a cull would prompt a spread of the disease rather than prevent it.

A cull is likely to go ahead in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset.

'Safe survival'

A spokesperson for The Badger Trust said it had not taken the decision to proceed to the Court of Appeal lightly.

"It underlines the trust's strong belief that the government's proposals to kill badgers in England are likely to do more harm than good," the spokesperson added.

The trust has said it will do "everything possible to ensure the safe survival of this iconic species".

The Court of Appeal in London confirmed it had received an application on Thursday.

According to the government, cattle tuberculosis costs the UK more than £100m per year and needs to be tackled.

After the ruling last week, a Defra spokesman said: "No-one wants to cull badgers, but last year bovine TB led to the slaughter of over 26,000 cattle.

"We will continue to work with the farming industry so badger control in two pilot areas can start as soon as is practical."

Natural England is currently processing the Somerset and Gloucestershire applications.