Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman is to announce further plans to tackle bovine TB in badgers.
In July the Government revealed controversial proposals to allow farmers and landowners to cull badgers at their own expense in a bid to tackle the disease in cattle.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) nearly 25,000 cattle were slaughtered in England last year because of bovine TB, which cost the country £90 million.
The problem is particularly bad in west and south-west England, where 23% of cattle farms were unable to move stock off their premises at some point in 2010 due to being affected by the disease.
Mrs Spelman will make a statement in the House of Commons following Prime Minister's Questions.
The Secretary of State previously said badger control licences would be issued by Natural England under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to enable groups of farmers and landowners to reduce badger populations.
She said more consultation would be carried out before any mass cull was allowed, but the Government planned to carry out a pilot in two areas.
If controlled shooting is found to be effective and humane, the policy could be introduced throughout England. Scotland and Wales set their own policy as disease control is a devolved issue.