The Government has hardened its resolve to press ahead with summer badger culls after official figures showed that bovine TB (bTB) is "running rampant" in the South West.
More than 6,000 cattle were slaughtered across Britain in the first two months of this year after testing positive for the disease, figures published this week have revealed.
The bovine death toll is similar to 2012 – one of the worst in recent history – but the number of herds now under restriction has soared by 30% compared to a year ago, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.
The steep rise in stricken farms comes as the county show season gets under way and after it was revealed that three exhibitors had been forced to withdraw from competition at this week's Devon County Show.
The National Farmers' Union spokesman for the South West, Ian Johnson, said the fact that "Draconian" restrictions on cattle had failed to slow the disease proved that badgers were a massive factor, particularly in the South West.
"The disease shows no sign of diminishing because there is another completely uncontrolled vector which is sharing the same pastures as cattle," he added.
"There are people in denial, who say that it is entirely due to cattle transmission and poor farming practice but this must be weighed against the situation on the ground.
"It is still running rampant despite restrictions which mean farmers are getting to the point where they are unable to trade."
Monthly statistics released on Wednesday showed there were 911 "new herd incidents" during January and February, compared with 945 in 2012.
After a big year-on-year increase in January, the February total showed national disease levels falling back in line with 2012, when 38,000 cattle were slaughtered.
A total of 6,307 cattle were compulsorily slaughtered as "reactors or direct contacts" in the first two months of the year, compared with 6,349 during the equivalent period last year, officials said.
But the statistics, for England, also show a big year-on-year rise in the number of herds under TB restriction in England in February 2013.
The figure of 4,532 herds compares with 3,469 under restriction in February 2012.
Farming Minister David Heath, who is MP for Somerton and Frome in Somerset, said: "We cannot allow this to continue, so we must reduce the risk of infection from cattle and wildlife to control and eventually eradicate this terrible disease."
Culls of disease-carrying badgers, in West Somerset, including Exmoor, and in Gloucestershire, are expected to go-ahead next month as part of a package of control measures for bovine TB.
Up to 5,000 badgers could be killed in the two areas during the four-year pilot cull period, which, if found to be effective in combating the disease, could be rolled out in other areas.
NFU vice-president Adam Quinney said the figures showed that no progress had been made in the past year.
"Farmers have increased cattle controls, biosecurity methods and the number of tests to try and stamp out the disease yet these figures lay out the facts in black and white for everybody to see," he added.
Opponents of plans to allow free shooting of badgers say culling is not the solution and "flies in the face of science".
Team Badger, the group campaigning against the plans, again called for vaccination and better biosecurity measures on farms to reduce transmission.
"We must remember the best estimate with a cull is a 16% reduction in the rise of bTB in nine years time," Anne Brummer added.
"If the Government follow a recent EU commission letter and deadlines, they can be vaccinating cattle in ten years and vaccinating badgers now.
"Culling badgers will not solve bTB – it is unsustainable, unethical, unscientific and will most probably make matters worse."