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Britain’s Badgers: how badger populations are at threat despite extensive legislative protection:


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© People’s Trust for Endangered Species


Badgers are widespread across the UK and are one of the most recognised wild British species. They live in social groups of related mature adults and cubs, known as “clans”, and are predominantly nocturnal animals. Badgers can have a life span of around 15-16 years, however, most only live to around 3-4 years old in the wild due to a number of factors which reduce their lifespans. The Badger Trust notes that “the earliest traces of badgers in Britain have been dated back to three quarters to half a million years ago, according to a study by Yates (1999)”, yet our well known British badgers are facing serious threats to their survival. Throughout history, badgers have been persecuted and subject to abject cruelty as the victims of blood sports. But, now badgers also face threats to their survival from culling due to building developments over and around their setts and due to the fact they can carry Bovine TB. Despite having extensive legislative protections afforded to them, badgers still seem to be struggling to survive.


What protections exist for badgers in legislation?

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 consolidated The Badgers Act 1973 (as amended) and The Badgers (Further Protection) Act 1991. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 gave extensive protections to badgers, after a spate of cruel attacks had taken place in recent years. The legislation makes it an offence to:

-wilfully kill, injure, take or attempt to kill, injure or take a badger;

-possess a dead badger or any part of a badger;

-cruelly ill-treat a badger;

-use badger tongs in the course of killing, taking or attempting to kill a badger;

-dig for a badger;

-sell or offer for sale or control any live badger;

-mark, tag or ring a badger;

-interfere with a badger sett by:

-damaging a sett or any part there of;

-destroying a sett;

-obstructing access to a sett;

-causing a dog to enter a sett;

-disturbing a badger while occupying a sett.


The Act provides a term of up to six months’ imprisonment, or a fine at level five, or both. If a fine is applied, it can be multiplied by the number of badgers impacted. Similarly, there are sentencing powers which would allow for badger skins to be forfeited and for individuals involved in crimes against badgers to be disqualified from having custody of dogs when there is concern they will be used to hunt badgers, as is also set out under s.43 of The Powers of Criminal Courts Act 2006.


However, there are exceptions to the Act, which always creates loopholes leaving badgers unprotected by the law. These exceptions include, but are not limited to: doing anything authorised under the Animals (Scientific) Procedures Act 1986, wilfully killing, injuring or taking or attempting to do any of these actions, if the person can show that their main purpose was to prevent serious damage to land, crops, poultry or other form of property (but this may not be an exception if there is evidence a licence would have been required to handle the badger under the Act), and where the action was incidental to a lawful operation and could not have been reasonably avoided. It should be clarified though that exceptions exist for those trying to help injured badgers which die in their care, so no one should be discouraged from trying to help an injured badger due to fear of prosecution.


Badgers are also protected under Schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which sets out that badgers are contained in the list of animals which may not be killed or taken by certain methods, as set out in s.11 of the Act and includes illuminating devices and some snares. The Protection of Animals Act 1911 (as amended in 2000) relates to captive badgers and sets out cruelty offences in relation to captive animals, similarly to The Animal Welfare Act 2006 which sets out the offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal in a person’s charge.


The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 prohibits the use of unapproved substances to kill or deter animals, including badgers. The only authorised substance is Renardine, but a licence is required if the substance is to be used near a sett, otherwise the use of the substance will amount to sett interference, an offence under The Protection of Badgers Act 1992.


From the above, it is clear that badgers are extensively protected under the law, so then why are their lives still at such risk and why are badgers struggling to survive in the UK?


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What is bothering badgers to the point of population decline? Illegal cruelty to badgers:

Despite the protection that badgers have under The Protection of Badgers Act 1992, badgers are still targets for extreme cruelty across the UK. Only in January 2021, the Badger Trust posted that The Rural Crime Team of the Warwickshire Police Force were called to attend a section of disused railway line in Rugby to find a badger hung from a tree and then butchered, probably alive. From the crime scene, the police assumed that a dog, or dogs, were involved in the death of the badger. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident of cruelty.


The Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link’s report from 2020 on wildlife crime across England and Wales found that illegal activity relating to badger cruelty has increased. It found that wildlife cybercrime (such as betting on badger and dog fights and illegal hunting and trapping co-ordination) has increased in recent years. The report explained that incidents have not decreased from their 2016 report, with 3800 wildlife crime incidents reported in 2019 compared to 4288 in 2016, with only 10 convictions in 2010[1]. The report set out that a minimum of 270 of these incidents related to badger persecution.

On 5 May 2021, The Badger Trust also reported that a badger volunteer, who regularly checked a sett to keep the badger occupants safe, was attacked and required 42 stitches for a head wound which left him unconscious, after being attacked by individuals trying to dig out the badgers.

Licensed culls of badgers:

Badgers have been known to be carriers of the highly contagious and deadly disease known as Bovine Tuberculosis, commonly known as bovine TB (“TB”), which severely impacts cattle herds. As a result, where there are outbreaks of TB, badgers often have the blame put heavily on their small shoulders. However, the Badger Trust have stated that the “population of badgers with TB is relatively small. With that being said, only 5.7% of all TB outbreaks have been the direct result of transmission from badgers to cattle. This equally means that 94.3% of all TB outbreaks come from alternate sources. Badgers, however, are still the subject of unrelenting culling campaigns that cannot possibly eradicate TB if they only cause 5.7% of all TB outbreaks[2].


However, under The Protection of Badgers Act 1992, the Government can issue licences for badger culls and in September 2020, DEFRA announced the continuation and expansion of the badger cull across 11 sites in England, including a low risk area in Lincolnshire. This meant that 62,000 badgers could have been killed in 2020 alone. Badgers have also not been considered in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill that has been so highly applauded since its announcement in the Queen’s Speech on the opening of Parliament this year.

A Government study, the only one of its kind, conducted between 1998 and 2006 on “The Randomised Badger Culling Trial” found that the “detailed evaluation of RBCT and other scientific data highlights the limitations of badger culling as a control measure for cattle TB. The overall benefits of proactive culling were modest (representing an estimated 14 breakdowns prevented after culling 1,000km2 for five years), and were realised only after coordinated and sustained effort. While many other approaches to culling can be considered, available data suggest that none is likely to generate benefits substantially greater than those recorded in the RBCT, and many are likely to cause detrimental effects. Given its high costs and low benefits we therefore conclude that badger culling is unlikely to contribute usefully to the control of cattle TB in Britain, and recommend that TB control efforts focus on measures other than badger culling.[3]”


Road traffic accidents:

Badgers are also severely impacted by road traffic accidents in the UK, with The Badger Trust estimating that as many as 50,000 badgers are killed every year on Britain’s roads, amounting to one fifth of the entire adult badger population[4]. With over 40 million licensed vehicles in the UK and a declining number of green corridors allowing them safe passage around congested areas and high speed limits in country lanes where badgers often cross at night, it is no wonder they are struggling to survive.


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© Woodland Trust


How can you help give badgers a break?

With badgers suffering from so many different threats, there are many ways you can help to ensure their survival. The Badger Trust asks that any badgers seen at the roadside are reported to them through a form via their Reporting Centre, which can help them assist the badger if possible or to ensure there are no badger cubs nearby that may become secondary casualties. You can also become part of the “Give Badgers a Brake” campaign on social media which raises awareness of badger road traffic accidents.


With regards to badger cruelty, you should report any incidents of cruelty, whether you believe the badger to be alive or not, or whether the illegal act is happening in the present or has already taken place, as this will help to protect other badgers suffering a similar fate and can help improve conviction rates and ensure the law is efficiently and effectively helping badgers.


To help protect badgers from further government culls you can write to your local MP, you can find local badger volunteer groups (however, it is advised you always go to setts in pairs to avoid and reduce risks to personal safety) and you can raise awareness of the fact that TB is not cured or alleviated by badger culling, instead you can educate yourself and others on the alternatives available, such as through badger vaccination, cattle vaccination and controlled movement of cattle to prevent spreading the disease between herds and species.

To find out more about how you can help please visit The Badger trust website: https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/you


Disclaimer - all views expressed herein are my own personal views.

 
 
 
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