BADGERS are being killed illegally and dumped on Carmarthenshire roads.

The claim came as arguments rage about whether farmers worried about a link between badgers and tuberculosis in cows can legally cull the animals.

Councillor Sian Thomas told Carmarthenshire Council's environment committee many badgers being found by the roadside were not hit by vehicles but being "fly-tipped".

She said: "They're dumped by people who kill them elsewhere.

"You go out on a Monday morning and they're everywhere."

The authority currently treats them as road kill.

Her observation was supported by Gordon Lumby, secretary of Badger Watch and Rescue Dyfed.

He told the Journal his organisation had conducted postmortems on several badgers found by the roadside.

They found one had been snared and another had all its legs broken before it died.

Mr Lumby said badgers were creatures of habit, adding: "They stick to their routes and tracks and only in spring do they cross roads they don't normally cross." He said he had heard about one Carmarthenshire refuse collection driver who reported picking up 15 dead badgers in one week.

RSPCA spokesman Gethin Russell-Jones said anecdotal evidence suggested there had been an increase in the number of dead badgers being found beside roads in the last 12 months.

"Killing badgers is illegal, whatever the method, without a special licence," he said.

"If people suspect that is happening or have seen that happening, get in touch with us as soon as possible. We would take it further."

Stephen James, deputy president of the National Farmers Union Cymru, called the councillor's comments "inflammatory" and suggested any evidence of this taking place should be reported to police.

He noted bovine TB was costing taxpayers £120 million a year, but added: "NFU Cymru does not condone any illegal activity and ignoring the law is simply unacceptable."

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokeswoman said the force had not been made aware of the issue, but it would look into any issues raised.

Last week Assembly rural affairs minister Elin Jones announced a new badger cull in West Wales to reduce bovine TB levels by 22 per cent.

More than 12,000 cattle in Wales were slaughtered in 2008 as a result of TB infection.