CONCERNS have been raised that the number of people prosecuted for cruelty to badgers nationally has almost doubled in five years.
In 2007, 30 people were prosecuted in magistrates' courts under the Protection of Badgers Act and, by 2011, that figure had risen to 58.
The figures, obtained through questions at Parliament, have caused particular concern in light of the coming badger cull in Gloucestershire.
The Labour party believes campaigns in support of badger culling, which has culminated in the Government giving the go-ahead for two trial culls this summer, could be encouraging cruelty.
Labour MP Diane Abbott, who obtained the figures, said the rise in numbers was "alarming" because she believed the cruelty was "barbaric".
She said: "We've got to send the message out that this kind of thing is wrong. The problem is that some of the campaigning on badger culling has given a green light to this kind of attitude to our wildlife."
The number prosecuted for crimes such as badger baiting has increased each year, with only a slight drop in 2010.
The Government plans to cull 70 per cent of all badgers in west Gloucestershire in a trial spell starting in June, with the aim of reducing the spread of bovine TB in cattle.