Nearly 40,000 badgers were killed in last autumn's cull at the same time as ministers were drawing up plans to consult on scrapping the scheme.
A total of 38,642 were slaughtered in the annual programme designed at curbing the spread of tuberculosis in cows, according to latest Environment Department figures.
The toll means 140,830 badgers have now been culled since 2013.
Dominic Dyer, of animal welfare charity Born Free, said: “Over 140,000 badgers have now been slaughtered under the badger cull policy since 2013 at a public cost over £70million in the largest mass destruction of a protected species in living memory.
“Despite the huge cost and cruelty of the cull policy, the Government has produced no reliable evidence to show badger culling alone can make a significant contribution to lowering bovine TB in cattle.”
The figures for 2020 will rise because details for 10 of the 54 cull zones across 17 counties were not released.
Badger Trust acting chief executive Dawn Varley said: “The 2020 figure of over 38,000 represent the most badgers ever killed in an annual cull cycle since the start in 2013, and this figure is likely to go up with final reporting.
“That makes over 140,000 badgers killed to date, and we're facing another 60,000-plus over the next two years, and for what?
“The science doesn't support the fact that badgers are a major factor in the spread of bTB, but they continue to be blamed and pay the ultimate price.”
Supporters believe killing badgers helps curb bovine tuberculosis in cows, with badgers blamed for carrying the disease around the countryside, infecting cattle.
But opponents believe the shooting programme is ineffective.
Publishing the results of last year's cull, UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said: “Based on the monitoring activity provided by Natural England, my view remains that the likelihood of suffering in badgers culled by controlled shooting is broadly within the range of those reported for hunting or killing of other terrestrial mammals.”
A breakdown shows 3,580 badgers were killed in Shropshire, 2,751 in Avon and 2,812 in Somerset.
National Farmers' Union deputy president Stuart Roberts said: “Bovine TB continues to devastate farming families up and down the country, causing huge strain mentally, emotionally and financially for farmers.
“Thousands of farms have seen generations of cattle slaughtered because of the disease, crippling their livelihoods instantly.
“The Government’s 25-year TB eradication strategy has provided some real hope to those farmers and it is clearly delivering successful results.
“The badger cull has played an enormous role in that.”
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs quietly added its 'Summary of 2020 badger control operations' to its website on the same day Cabinet Minister George Eustice unveiled a consultation on ending the cull.
Campaigners hope the move will mean badgers are spared from 2023.
In a written parliamentary statement, Mr Eustice fuelled hopes the end of the cull was near.
He said: “Badger culling is one of the most contentious and divisive policies within our bTB eradication strategy.
“Our current policy enables four-year intensive cull licences in defined areas with scope for a further five years of supplementary culling.
“The consultation sets out proposals for Natural England to stop issuing the current intensive cull licences for new areas post-2022 and enable new licences issued to be cut short if the Chief Veterinary Officer considers this acceptable.
“Furthermore, I am proposing to restrict any new supplementary cull licences to two years and cease re-issuing such licences in any areas in which supplementary culling has previously been licensed.”
