Two "pilot" culls of badgers to halt the spread of tuberculosis in cattle will take place after next year's Olympics, the Government is expected to say this week.

In July, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman announced she was "strongly minded" to sanction culls in areas ravaged by the disease, notably the South West.

A public consultation has since been carried out into whether "controlled shooting" – the Government's favoured method – is an effective way to shoot the animals.

The Western Morning News understands ministers are expected to say this week the exercise has not thwarted plans to "pilot" the technique, which involves licensed marksmen shooting free-running badgers.

The Government will also say, for the first time, that the six-week pilots will take place following the summer Games in London.

A major concern has been that police forces would be over-stretched by the Olympics, and monitoring protests against a cull would add further pressure.

The window for a cull will be open until the start of the six-month closed season – the breeding season which bans a cull – in February 2013.

Ministers have said previously they fully expect a judicial review of the decision from animal welfare groups similar to that lodged in Wales.

Farming leaders believe the pilots, to determine whether badgers have been killed effectively and humanely, are most likely to be in Devon or Cornwall and Gloucestershire. But ministers are not expected to say where they will be this week.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would not confirm whether an announcement would be made this week.

A spokesman said: "Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating disease, with over 25,000 cattle slaughtered last year in England alone because of it.

"We know that part of the problem is that badgers give it to cattle. No single measure will eradicate the disease which is why we need a comprehensive approach that builds on our robust controls. An announcement will be made shortly."

Affected herds are most frequently found in the South West.

The Government's bovine TB eradication strategy suggests if the pilots are successful, culls will be rolled out in other disease-ridden areas.

Up to 40 cull licences could be issued over a four-year period.

The National Farmers' Union supports the plans while animal welfare campaigners think thousands of badgers are to be slaughtered needlessly.

Hundreds of deer and foxes are free shot each year with few welfare issues. Controlled shooting is much cheaper than trapping an animal before shooting it.

Scientists insist culling has to be carried out over a large area and for a long enough period. If so, it could lead to a 16 per fall in TB in cattle over nine years.