Today's decision by Wales' Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to go ahead with a badger cull in north Pembrokeshire was welcomed by the Farmers' Union of Wales.
"It marks an important step towards reducing bovine TB (bTB) incidences in an area that has one of the highest rates of the disease in Europe," said the FUW's bTB spokesman, Carmarthenshire dairy farmer Brian Walters.
"The approach consistently promoted by the Minister has been shown to reduce the chances of cattle becoming infected with bTB.
"The Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011 she has laid before the Assembly today allows culling in one part of Wales in a way which will reduce badger numbers rather than eradicate them.
"Successive votes in the National Assembly have shown that the cull has cross party support from the majority of AMs.
"It seems likely that the order will be debated by the Assembly in the coming weeks, and we hope that AMs will have the same resolve as that shown by the Minister and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).
"The only thing which has changed since previous votes is that further scientific analysis has shown culling to be even more effective at stopping bTB over a prolonged period than was previously thought."
The Minister today announced new controls to deal with TB in non-bovines - including camelids, goats and deer - which were also welcomed by the FUW.
Mr Walters added that a paper published by the FUW last summer suggested a badger cull in north Pembrokeshire could reduce bTB herd incidences by 30% during a five-year cull and by 32% in a three-and-a-half-year period following culling.
"There is only one approach which has been shown scientifically to reduce bTB incidences in hotspot areas where bTB is endemic in badgers, and that is culling.
"Without decisive, science-based action we will not see the outcome we all want, which is cattle and badgers free of disease.
"With the cost to the taxpayer expected to reach more than £30m this year, bTB remains a major concern for the Welsh Assembly Government and one of the most serious economic issues facing the Welsh farming industry.
"And for those forced to watch their businesses being closed down and their animals removed for slaughter, the emotional cost is one that cannot be assigned a monetary value."