THE reality of what bovine tuberculosis can do to a cattle farm has been spelled out by farmers to government minister Hilary Benn.

Around 80 farmers wearing black armbands stood in silence as Mr Benn, Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, took the stage at the National Farmers' Union conference in Birmingham.

They were protesting at his refusal to allow a cull of diseased badgers, which they blame for causing the spread of the disease that saw 40,000 cattle slaughtered last year after testing positive for bovine TB.

Mr Benn said he understood the terrible impact the disease was having. But in reaching his decision not to allow a cull of sick badgers, he had been swayed by the report of the Independent Scientific Group, chaired by Professor John Bourne, which concluded that a cull might fuel the disease.

"Vaccination is the way forward," he said.