The badger cull has ended in Dorset, Defra has confirmed.

Natural England granted a licence for the cull to begin in Dorset for the first time this year, following trial culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in previous years.

Licensed marksmen had six weeks to cull a target of at least 615 badgers in Dorset.

Natural England allowed an option for this period to be extended, but Defra has confirmed that the culling period has now come to an end and no application has been received.

It is not known if targets have been reached. Defra will now review the statistics and announce the results of the cull in the coming weeks.