NFU president Meurig Raymond has called for balanced policing during the second year of the pilot badger culls, which started last week.

Culling has resumed in Somerset and Gloucestershire, with those involved determined to learn painful lessons from last year, including how to tackle the presence of protestors, which hampered operations last year, particularly in Gloucestershire.

Mr Raymond said there was a “determination” from farmers and cull companies to make a success of the pilots to help ensure wider roll-out in future.

He said he was “confident” the changes made this year, including extra training of contractors and a more flexible approach, would produce better results, but made a special plea for balanced policing in the pilot areas, after the heavy disruption caused by protestors last year.

“I just hope the police forces uphold law and order and allow the culls to be carried out in a correct manner,” he said.

“That is all we can hope for. We have done all we can at our end – the cull companies and the farmers on the ground have worked exceptionally hard and everybody is determined to make it a success.”

He said the NFU has had conversations with the police forces in Somerset and Gloucestershire about policing the culls, a hugely controversial issue which last year saw police accused of bias from both sides.

Protestors accused the police of working too closely with the NFU to prevent protests and demonstrations, while farmers claimed the police, particularly in Gloucestershire, did not do enough to prevent unlawful activity that prevented contractors going about their work.

“Everyone is more confident we are in a better place this year. Lessons have been learned,” Mr Raymond said.

Somerset farmer James Small, a former county NFU chairman and unofficial spokesman on the cull, said: “Farmers in the pilot areas just want to crack on and get the job done.

“I think there is a real frustration among farmers, particularly in the south-west, that we are not getting on and doing it more widely.

“We imagine there will be protestors but lessons have been learned on all sides, so we will see how it pans out.”

A Gloucestershire police spokesman said: “The cull is a sensitive issue that divides opinion country-wide. The policing response to the cull, Operation Themis, will be impartial and independent, free from any external influence.

“Our aim is to safeguard public safety, respond to incidents of crime and disorder and to ensure that anyone who wishes to protest peacefully and lawfully will able to do so. We will put public safety at the heart of all our actions.”

“Our role is to provide a policing response to the cull and any incidents arising from it.

“This will be neutral and independent – we will deliver our statutory responsibilities which include dealing with any incidents of crime and disorder and ensuring that anyone who wishes to protest peacefully is able to do so.”

The first year of culling failed to meet the criteria set for both effectiveness and humaneness and prompted former Defra Secretary Owen Paterson to shelve plans to roll culling out nationally.

The licensees have again been set a minimum and maximum number of badgers to be removed, but added flexibility has been provided.

In Gloucestershire, the contractors will be required to remove between 615 and 1,091 badgers over a six-week period.

In Somerset, a lower target of between 316 and 785 has been set.

The target numbers are lower than last year as, after the first year of culling, the intention is to maintain badger numbers at a low level.

In another significant change, a Government-approved training programme has been put in place to improve the shooting accuracy of the contractors.

The pilots will be monitored by Natural England and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, which said they were working with Defra to develop a “robust monitoring regime”.