A PROTEST against the "monstrous" badger cull is coming to Worcester.

The event, which will be "peaceful and family-friendly" according to the organisers, will take place on Saturday (April 25) at 1pm, starting in St Andrews Park, Deansway.

It has been planned by a team of local activists, who are urging members of the public to join the walk through the city centre and listen to some respected wildlife campaigners.

Emily Lawrence, one of the organisers, said: "The majority of the public oppose it, science tells us it is ineffective and it is inhumane and costs taxpayers vast amounts of money.

"The badger is an iconic British mammal that is protected by law.

"To decimate a species when it's clear it will make no meaningful contribution to reducing the spread of bovine TB is not something we wish to be associated with."

The group claim the pilot badger culls, which have been taking place in Somerset and Gloucestershire, have killed 2,476 badgers in 2013 at a cost of £15 million to the public purse.

Dale Vince, chief executive of Ecotricity, which is supporting the march, added: "I think the badger cull is a monstrous idea and a definitive example of how modern farming bumps up against and eradicates nature that gets in its way."