What is Badger Crime?

 Facts and Information about Badger Cruelty

Threats to Badgers
Quick Facts
Badger Baiting and Digging
Lamping and Shooting
Snaring and Trapping
Poisoning and Gassing
Interference with and destruction of setts
Fox Hunting
The History of Badger Baiting & Digging

Threats to Badgers

Badgers in Britain are threatened by both legal and illegal activities:

Legal activities, subject to compliance with strict guidelines within specific legislation, include road and housing development, forestry and agricultural operations, sett-stopping by foxhunts. The Government is also killing thousands of badgers in a controversial experiment to find out whether they infect cattle with Bovine TB (the cull was temporarily suspended during the foot and mouth crisis).

Illegal threats to badgers include badger-digging and baiting; snaring; poisoning (including the misuse of pesticides); lamping and sett interference.

In addition, a large number of badgers are the victims of road traffic accidents each year (official estimate 50,000 - source NFBG). Various 'pest control' methods, usually targeted at foxes and rabbits, also cause the death of unknown numbers of badgers. Some of these deaths occur by accident, but on occasions their death is deliberate.
 

Quick Facts

• The British Population of Badgers is estimated to be in the region of 300,000 to 400,000 badgers (source English Nature)

• About 50,000 badgers are killed every year in road traffic accidents. Source: NFBG

• An estimated 10,000 Badgers are killed illegally each year by badger baiting and digging. Source: Research carried out by Prof. Stephen Harris, Bristol University,together with Penny Creswell and Don Jefferies of the Nature Conservancy Council.

Badger Baiting and Digging

Small terriers, such as Lakelands, Patterdales, sometimes Jack Russells or a cross-breed are sent down into a badger sett to locate a badger and hold it at bay.  The men then dig their way down to their quarry and drag the badger out of the sett. Many diggers attach a radio transmitter to the dog's collar before sending it below ground then all they have to do is use a radio receiver/locater to determine the exact location of the dog.
 

The second type of badger baiting involves gambling where large sums of money can change hands. The badger is dug out of the sett in the manner described above and then it is put in a bag and taken away to be baited later on.  The badger is taken somewhere quiet for example a barn, shed or cellar and placed into a makeshift arena, a ring or pit, from which it cannot escape. Dogs are then set upon it. Even if the badger is lucky enough to get the better of one dog, the owner may hit or otherwise injure the badger in order to 'protect his pet'. Ultimately, no matter how well it tries to defend itself, the badger's fate is sealed. The badger, through injury and exhaustion, will not be able fight any longer. The baiters will then kill the badger usually by clubbing or shooting it. Gambling is always involved and a winning dog's value will rise - along with the price of its puppies. An anonymous letter received by Michael Sharratt of Badger Watch & Rescue Dyfed states that badgers are being caught and sold for about £500 for baiting.

Badger baiting was a form of public entertainment in the early 19^th century dating back to medieval times. Often taking place in the back yards of taverns and organised in order to increase the sales of beer by drawing in a greater crowd. A badger was put into a barrel which was laid on its side. Then whichever dog drew the badger out first was the winner.

Badgers are shy and peaceful animals and not normally aggressive, but will defend themselves if cornered or provoked. A badger has great strength and a blow from one of its vicious claws can do serious harm.

A typical injury inflicted on a terrier by a badger

Lamping and Shooting

Lamping is the hunting of animals at night with the aid of bright lights - badgers are dazzled while they are feeding on fields.  Some 'lampers' use lurchers or other similar dogs to take the quarry that they dazzle while others mount their spotlights on high-powered firearms and simply shoot their victims.

Snaring and Trapping

Snaring badgers and other protected species is prohibited in section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, but this is difficult to enforce as long as some snaring is legal. The use of self-locking snares is prohibited under this Act but the use of free-running snares is permitted to catch foxes and rabbits provided they are inspected at least once every 24 hours. The free running snare is intended as a restraining device and should not, if used lawfully, normally cause bodily injury. Snares or traps are indiscriminate and often catch badgers when they are not the intended victims (although illegal in the UK, self-locking snares are still used and cause severe injuries to a variety of animals species - caught by the neck or round the body the animal struggles to get free causing the snare to tighten and cut deeper into the animal's flesh causing a lingering, painful death).

Poisoning and Gassing

Some landowners and gamekeepers use poisoned baits to catch predators of game and livestock. However, like snares, poisons can cause great suffering and are indiscriminate, often killing animals other than the intended victims.  Badgers are also gassed by accident when inexperienced pest controllers mistake badger setts for rabbit warrens.  However, without doubt, the deliberate gassing of badger setts does occur. The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 prohibit the use of unapproved products to deter or kill animals, including badgers.  The only repellent approved for use to deter badgers is Renardine. If used at the sett, rather than on lawn, for example, a licence is required otherwise there will be an offence of sett interference.

Interference with and destruction of setts

Landowners who for one reason or another want to rid their land of badgers, will sometimes target badger setts. There have been several occasions when strong substances such as slurry or diesel oil have been poured into sett entrances to kill badgers by drowning them. Every year there are cases of setts being damaged or destroyed.

Fox hunting

There are fears that the fox hunting ban might be lifted, which would be bad news for badgers!

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes a provision for fox hunters to block badger setts during a hunt, to prevent foxes from taking refuge in them.  The Act states that specific organic material that a badger can move is only permitted to block the setts and the setts must be un-blocked the same day.  However, even with these rules in place, many badger setts were still found blocked using tree stumps, clay and other heavy material that badgers would not have the strength to move.  The badgers died of thirst and starvation underground.

The History of Badger Baiting & Digging

Badger Baiting was made illegal in 1835, but the 'sport' of badger digging remained legal. Badger digging continued to be so popular that in the 1960's the badger population was believed to be under threat and in decline.  Badgers were first protected in Britain by the Badger Act 1973 (amended in 1981 and 1985), designed to stop widespread persecution but has done little to help. At that time, the legislation protected badgers but not their setts and so, in October 1991, a further Badger Protection Act was introduced to protect badger setts as well. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992, consolidated and improved previous legislation. This protection has always been acknowledged to be welfare-based: that is, it is intended to defend the species against cruelty such as badger baiting rather than to conserve it for ecological reasons.

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