WOOLASTON farmer Jim Hunt has become the latest Dean dairyman to lose his herd to bovine TB.

During the past week the 61-year-old has seen 126 cows and calves shot or taken away for slaughter from his farm at Plusterwine House.

He said he did not know if culling badgers would halt the march of the deadly disease.

But he believed the controversial trial cull around the outskirts of the Forest of Dean was the only way to find out.

Jim first lost 48 cattle to TB two years ago, but says the number of positive tests was reducing until the latest outbreak.

Farming has been in his family for generations and he recalls the man from the ministry gassing badgers if TB was found in infected areas.

"It may be a co-incidence but TB was reduced to two small areas of the country until we had the Badger Act and then it just quietly grew and grew," he said.

"The only we way to find out for sure if they are causing the problem is to have these trial areas and see if it makes a difference.

"I don't want to see badgers shot, but there are two sides to every argument and I did not want to see 62 of my animals shot either.

"Believe me it wasn't a pretty sight. You get to know your older cows but the really distressing thing is seeing calves, some just a month old, just being incinerated. It's such a waste of their lives."

Jim says four people rely on the herd for their jobs so he will be partially restocking.

He will get compensation of around £126 per animal but says they will cost around £400 each to replace.

Last month, he put in a planning application for an anaerobic digester to use 8,000 tonnes of silage to produce 500KW of renewable energy.

Falling milk prices had led to a decision to partly replace the dairy herd, but the application has not been heard yet.

The farm is also home to Huntseeds, the leading supplier of maize seeds.

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire Police have cancelled leave amid fears the badger cull could lead to angry clashes between farmers and animal activists who have threatened to invade the area.

The Police Federation said many officers had already put their holidays on hold because of the Olympics and the decision would hit morale.

Councillors at the Forest of Dean District Council agreed last week not to allow badgers to be shot on around 15 acres of council-owned land and asked other landowners to do the same. Neighbouring Tewkesbury has followed suit.

James Wakeley from the Cinderford-based NFU said farmers were very concerned by reports that they would be targeted by activists. But he said: "TB is endemic in the area and many farmers are awaiting the outcome of the trials."