ANIMAL rights activists this week called on Malvern Hills District Council to ban badger culling from its land.

At the executive committee meeting on Tuesday, Diana Pugh of Operation Badger handed over a petition of more than 750 signatures calling for the ban.

She said: "Operation Badger aims for every council to have this petition brought before them to vote on not allowing culling under their jurisdiction.

"This means that when the government rolls out culling across the land there will be pockets of safety for badgers where no landowner can apply for a licence to shoot them."

Council leader David Hughes, accepted the petition, and said he the council will debate the request before long, probably at its meeting in June.