Badger Trust urges the public to take a stand against illegal hunting and report sett blocking

Reporting sett interference is vital to help safeguard badgers during the peak hunt season.

Badger sett disturbance is the most common form of badger crime, accounting for over 58% of all reported crimes. Shockingly, 25% of these reports relate to illegal fox hunting. With hunt season at its peak, Badger Trust urges badger protectors across the U.K. to look out for signs of sett interference and report every crime to help safeguard badgers.

In November 2022, the 2021 Annual Wildlife Crime Report was published. The report confirmed that illegal hunting causes significant risk to badgers and their setts. Not only is it illegal under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992) and the Countryside Act (1981) to interfere with, disturb, or harm badgers or their sett, but fox hunting has also been banned by law since the Hunting Act passed in 2004.

Huntsmen and terriermen block the entrances to badger setts in the lead-up to a hunt so that foxes cannot use badger setts for refuge. Whilst huntsmen will often claim that their activities are legal and that the hounds are trail hunting (following pre-laid scent) rather than hunting foxes, sett blocking is evidence that this is not always the case. Badger setts will not be blocked if the hunt is taking part in legal forms of trail hunting.

With the hunting season most active from November to May, it is, therefore, essential that badger sett blocking is thoroughly monitored and reported at this time of year. Yet, the 2021 Wildlife Crime Report showed that badger crime reporting fell by 15.43% from 2020. Without reporting, badger crime risks losing its priority status.

The importance of reporting badger crime

Badger crime is listed as one of the UK’s Wildlife Crime Priorities. Yet badger crime is not currently a notifiable offence, so police do not always record badger crime cases. Many forces will list such cases as “miscellaneous” instead. When someone reports badger crime to the police, they can respond and prosecute illegal activity. Additionally, by reporting to Badger Trust, the charity can record the rates and location of badger crime on a national scale. Recording all reported badger crimes allows the Trust and the police to monitor trends in criminal activity that impacts badgers.

Unfortunately, not all badger crime is reported, and there is a gap in public knowledge about the legal protection of badgers. Badger Trust’s 2022 YouGov poll revealed that a staggering 64% of English adults were unaware or unsure that badgers are protected by law – little surprise that badger crime is under-recognised and underreported.

Speaking of the Wildlife Crime Report’s key findings for badger protection, Executive Director of Badger Trust, Peter Hambly, explained:

“The present situation on badger crime is very concerning. Unless crimes against the badger are made notifiable by the Home Office, we will never get an accurate picture of the extent of the problem. It will continue to be very hard to get people to report incidents, which is why Badger Trust urges the public to report every case of suspected crime against badgers and their setts.”

What is Badger Trust doing to stop badger crime?

Badger Trust is working on two key areas highlighted in the Wildlife Crime Report.

Firstly, police forces need ways to accurately monitor the rates of badger crime within and between their jurisdictions, to help secure prosecutions and build trust with volunteers on the ground. Badger Trust collates and monitors national badger crime reports, shares data with police forces, and campaigns to have badger crime assigned notifiable status with the Home Office.

Secondly, the public needs help to recognise, record and report signs of badger crime safely and confidently. Badger Trust has designed a variety of resources to help raise public awareness of the badger’s protected status and what to do if a crime is suspected.

Call to Strengthen Policy

Badger Trust continues to call on the Government to bring sentencing under the Protection of Badgers Act (PBA) up-to-date. Under the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, those committing the most serious animal cruelty crimes to a domestic animal in England and Wales can face prosecution with up to five years in prison. Similar animal cruelty committed against a wild badger can only be given a maximum of a six-month prison sentence under the PBA. Low sentencing means badger crime is not eligible for notifiable status.

Together we call on the government to:

• Extend the maximum sentence for convictions under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992) from six months to five years, bringing it into line with Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021. This means offenders would be faced with a five-year sentence for the abuse of a badger, in the same way as they would for the abuse of a dog used in the same crime.

• Make badger persecution notifiable to the Home Office so that the real level of crime can be accurately assessed, reported on, and tackled. At present, wildlife crimes are not recorded in this way and there are no official national statistics. Increasing sentencing would, by default, make a crime under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992) a notifiable offence.

What can you do to stop badger crime?

The best thing the public can do to stop badger crime is to recognise, record, and report it. Badger Trust has various resources and tips to help you recognise signs of badger crime and badger sett activity, and we need more people to record evidence and report crime when they see it. Only by reporting the crime can Badger Trust keep badger protection a UK Wildlife Crime Priority.

Report badger-related crimes to the police and Badger Trust

If a crime is in progress, please ring 999 and ensure you stay safe. If you find evidence after the event, please use the non-emergency number 101, or report online via a web option your police force may offer. By also reporting it to Badger Trust, you ensure we can liaise with the police on incidents, that we can alert the relevant local group as necessary, and that we have crime data across England and Wales. It also informs our work with the NWCU’s UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group and Wildlife and Countryside Link Wildlife Crime Group. You can report badger crime via our Reporting Centre or via the Badger Watch app.

Download the free Badger Watch app

Badger Trust, alongside researchers and developers from the University of Exeter, has created a new app ‘Badger Watch’ to help tackle badger crime. This new app has been developed as a free tool for members of the public and Badger Groups to easily recognise, record and report instances of badger crime when they’re out in the field. Recording and reporting badger crime at the moment it is witnessed will help save time and save badgers from horrific cruelty. Available for Android and Apple devices, the app is a crucial tool kit for anyone concerned about badger crime. The Badger Watch app provides users with clear guidance on what to do if they encounter or suspect a badger crime has taken place. Badger Trust Groups Coordinator, Sally Jones, explained: “The Badger Watch App is an exciting tool for reporting badger crime as it helpfully guides users through a step-by-step process to Recognise, Record and Report badger persecution.

The Badger Watch App is a user-friendly, one-stop-shop of information on the law and what to do when witnessing badger crime, all quickly accessible on your phone.

I can’t overstate the importance of badger crime reporting – it is vital for securing prosecutions, monitoring national rates of badger crime, and for ensuring it remains a wildlife crime priority.”

The Badger Watch app guides users through the signs of badger activity, signs of illegal human activity (such as sett blocking, snaring, and baiting), and how to collect evidence safely and accurately.

Once evidence is collected, the user submits location and crime information via the app, which generates an automatic report sent directly to Badger Trust to monitor. The app advises users when to call the police and how to keep safe at the scene.

Download the free Badger Watch App.