Queen's Brian May has given thanks for the badgers "still with us", after a planned shoot set for tomorrow (November 30) in Gloucestershire was called off.

May, a tireless campaigner against the UK government's plans to cull badgers in a bid to reduce tuberculosis in cattle, has spoken out after the shoot - part of an extension to the original cull, which finished last month - was cancelled as the government were so far off their target of 1,650 badgers, shooting only 708. "The extension should never have been allowed. We mourn the badger lives lost and give thanks for those still with us," said May, via The Mirror.

He added: "Now this shameful badger cull shambles can be seen, it must be time to get on with the only strategy which can succeed in eradication of bovine TB - vaccination of badgers and other wildlife, and prioritisation of work to licence the vaccine for cattle."

This summer May led a march through London to protest against the cull and earlier this year he released an anti-badger cull protest song called 'Save The Badger Badger Badger'. The track was essentially a mash-up of the May-penned Queen classic 'Flash's Theme' and 'Badger Badger Badger', the infamous YouTube sensation by Weebl.

The track featured guest vocals from mighty-voiced actor Brian Blessed, who played Prince Vultan in the original Flash Gordon film for which 'Flash's Theme' was written. "Keep the badgers aliiiiiiiiiiive!" Blessed is heard booming at the end of the minute-long track. The track's aim was to raise awareness of Team Badger.