THE RSPCA has hit out at suggestions Worcester's seagulls could be culled - saying it cannot be allowed to gain traction.

The body has urged councillors in the city to promote "non-lethal methods" of tackling the gull population, saying too many people wrongly view the birds as pests.

As the Worcester News revealed on Tuesday, Councillor Chris Mitchell said a cull should not be ruled out as part of a new project to tackle the seagulls.

Despite a significant fall in their numbers Worcester City Council wants to hatch a new plot to reduce the population further over the coming months.

But the RSPCA says it has become concerned its own cruelty hotline has been contacted by people around the country with evidence of gulls being hurt.

It says the seagulls problem would be better if more people stopped feeding them, calling for "care and understanding".

A spokesman said: "The RSPCA believes deterrents and non-lethal methods of control are the best way to reduce gull-related problems.

"Not feeding the gulls and disposing of rubbish properly, and blocking off areas where gulls normally nest outside the breeding season will help reduce the problems.

"Unfortunately many see the birds as pests, but all it takes is a little care and understanding to minimise any inconvenience.

"Gulls and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and it's illegal to intentionally kill, take or injure wild birds - action can only be taken against them under licence.

"Herring gulls in particular are a species of conservation concern in the UK and evidence indicates that overall herring gull populations are actually in decline."

A spokesman for the RSPB also agreed, saying herring gulls are "red listed" and "lethal controls" must be resisted.

Meanwhile Councillor Alan Feeney has leapt to the defence of the birds, saying the argument the birds "have to die simply because we don't want them" must be challenged.

He raised the issue within the Conservative group this week, and says he will try and stop the idea becoming a possibility.

Since the Worcester News ran our first story on Tuesday a deluge of reaction has come in from readers, with opinion divided.

Mike Upton, from Worcester, emailed in to say: "Of course there should be a cull.

"It has cost Worcester citizens over £550 per nesting pair reduced, can someone explain how this is cost effective? Cull 75 per cent of them and stop making many people's lives a misery."

But Lisa Patten, 52, of Warndon Villages, one of many objectors, called in to label the suggestion "disgusting".

"If we didn't feed them, they would be here - each and every person who has ever littered in Worcester is to blame, not the seagulls," she said.

The gulls population in the city centre was counted at 181 last year, compared to 296 in 2011.