By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 09:19 EST, 1 June 2013 | UPDATED: 06:05 EST, 2 June 2013 Hundreds of animal welfare supporters marched through Westminster today in protest at Government plans to cull thousands of badgers. Queen guitarist Brian May and Springwatch presenter Bill Oddie led calls for the plan - hatched to stop the spread of bovine TB - to be abanoned. A group of protesters set fire to a pile of newspapers, causing smoke to drift over the grounds of the Houses of Parliament. Scroll down for video Queen star Brian May joins protesters in a march through Westminster today in a last minute bid to stop the cull of 5,000 badgers
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Police called after newspapers set on fire near Houses of Parliament
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Opponents chant 'Shame on Defra' during march
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Musician May says cull will cause 'intense pain' to badger population
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About 5,000 animals will die in six week culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire
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Government says policy will help stop spread of bovine TB to cattle
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But opponents say there is little evidence scheme will work
The protests were made as two pilot kills in bovine TB hotspot areas in @placeholder were due to start.