Conservation & Ecology
A badger latrine is usually just a few centimetres deep
crash, taking protective root systems with them. So badgers have to constantly adapt. It may also be the case that they simply instinctively enjoy digging and like the freshness of newly-dug living quarters. Badgers thrive in hilly, well drained areas with plenty of short-cropped pasture and broad-leaved woods. They do less well where the ground is relatively barren and stony and in the middle of large woods where close- growing conifers dominate. The richer the soil the better the foraging. There are, by generally accepted definition,
The purpose of tree scratching is not fully understood
three other types of sett: annexes, subsidiaries and outliers. The first two are similar and there is much debate as to whether they really do differ in any material sense. Annexes are found close to, but are separate from, main setts. They frequently have several entrances, large spoil heaps and well worn paths, some of which lead to the main sett. Annexes aren’t always occupied and there is some evidence that younger or less dominant sows from the main sett may retreat to them to rear their young in safety. Subsidiary setts are normally a little further
Digging out badgers is highly illegal and subject to prosecution
from the main setts, may have several entrances, but generally lack connecting paths to other setts. Outliers are usually single hole setts with a short length of tunnel and appear to be occasionally used, perhaps as a bolthole, a temporary resting or sleeping place, or even as a source of food - a place to find worms and insects. Disused setts, both rural and urban, often
provide foxes with a ready-made den in which they will raise their young, and foxes will also
set up home in an inactive part of a large sett. There are reports of foxes venturing into active setts and snatching badger cubs and, equally, accounts of fox cubs ending their days in the jaws of badgers underground. Sightings of other squatters in badger setts include polecat, rabbits, hedgehogs (not a wise place for them to be), mice (woodmice especially), rats and feral cats.
Paths
Badgers are creatures of habit. They regularly visit the same patches of woodland or open pasture to forage for food and, to do so, they follow the same musk-scented trails which they and generations of badgers before them have created. Paths leading from large setts are often grassless tracts of shiny mud worn smooth by the constant passage of broad, powerful feet. The further away from setts, the less obvious the pathways become, for by this point badgers from the same social group will have headed in different directions to feed, often alone rather than in groups.
Latrines
Badgers usually defecate in dung pits; self-dug shallow holes, a few centimetres deep. The dung is typically loose, smooth and watery, but the consistency and colour varies depending on the type of food being eaten. Latrines are a collection of dung pits, often
spread over several square metres of ground under bushes and other foliage. It has long been thought that they act as territorial boundary markers - indicators to badgers from other social groups that they are ‘trespassing’. But, more recently, that singular conclusion has been challenged and it may be that they
Why are badgers protected?
Badgers and their setts are legally protected from intentional cruelty, such as badger-baiting, and from the results of lawful human activities, such as building developments. The legislation, mainly the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, has provided a useful tool in deterring the abuse of badgers and in prosecuting those who continue to break the law.
However, it is a sad fact that many thousands of badgers are still killed illegally each year, and the incidents appear to be increasing. Also, due to the nature of the crimes, there are relatively few successful prosecutions.
These notes are intended to provide some background to the law relating to badgers. However, the issue is complex and more detailed information can be obtained by contacting Badger Trust
www.badger.org.uk.
Threats to badgers
Badgers in the UK are threatened by both legal and illegal activities.
Legal activities, subject to compliance with conditions in the 1992 Act, include: - road and housing development - leisure, forestry and agricultural operations
- culling by the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Assembly Government in relation to bovine TB in cattle
118 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
Illegal threats to badgers include: - digging and baiting - snaring - poisoning (including the misuse of pesticides) - lamping and sett interference Relevant legislation
The main legislation protecting badgers in England and Wales is the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (the 1992 Act). Under the 1992 Act it is 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; and interfere with a badger sett by:
damaging a sett or any part thereof destroying a sett obstructing access to a sett causing a dog to enter a sett
disturbing a badger whilst occupying a sett
The 1992 Act defines a badger sett as: “any structure or place which displays signs indicating current use by a badger”.
The 1992 Act: powers of sentence
(i) up to six months imprisonment or a fine at level 5 or both. The fine may be multiplied by the number of badgers
(ii) forfeiture of any badger or skin relating to the offence or any weapon or article used
(iii) order destruction or disposal of dogs (iv) disqualification for having custody of a dog Amendments to the 1992 Act
There have been various amendments to the 1992 Act, most significantly through the Hunting Act 2004 and the Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
Provided certain conditions were met, sections 8(4) to (9) of the 1992 Act used to permit fox hunts to obstruct the entrances of badger setts to prevent foxes seeking refuge and allowed hounds to mark at a badger sett. The Hunting Act 2004, which came into force on 18th February 2005, repealed sections 8(4) to (9) of the 1992 Act.
The Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 extends the power of Wildlife Inspectors to the 1992 Act. It extends a police officer’s search warrant power to the 1992 Act. It also extends the time limit to six months, within
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