Bodger’s Badger joins Badger Trust campaign to #CanTheCull
- Badger Trust Staff Team
- Jun 8, 2022
- 4 min read
Children’s TV character ‘Badger’ is back with a new friend to help champion his namesake as the badger cull starts up once more
Badgers facing threat of the 2022 badger cull have been rejoined by an old ally, in the form of ‘Bodger’s Badger’, one half of the late 1980s and 1990s children’s TV favourite partnership, ‘Bodger and Badger’. Andy Cunningham, creator of the partnership, starred as ‘Simon Bodger’ alongside his creation ‘Badger’, an anthropomorphic badger with a particular fondness for mashed potatoes.
Andy sadly died in 2017, after nine series of the popular ‘Bodger and Badger’ series in which they had lots of adventures together. The legend that is 'Badger' has been picked up by entertainer Ash White as the new partnership of ‘Bodger’s Badger’, and the pairing has joined forces with Badger Trust to champion the cause of this much persecuted, maligned and misunderstood animal. Bodger’s Badger are speaking up for badgers as the new cull season gets underway, with cull licences allowing the shooting of badgers from 1st June across huge swathes of the English countryside.
Peter Hambly, Executive Director of Badger Trust, said: "Badger Trust is the voice of badgers in England and Wales, and it’s fantastic to have Badger back adding his voice to our campaigns to champion and defend this iconic animal.
"Andy Cunningham spoke out against the cull with Badger in 2013 when the current cull in England started up, and we’re very grateful to have Badger back to help raise awareness, this time with his new friend Ash."
He continued: "It’s an outrage that the badger cull continues, almost ten years on, and we hope the return of Badger can help us educate the public as the senseless slaughter starts up again. Since 2013, support for the cull has halved so that now only 15% of the public support it. Yet a third of people say they don’t know enough about the cull, so Badger will help us reach new wildlife enthusiasts.”
Ash White, the human half of ‘Bodger’s Badger’, said:
"Badger and I are really pleased to help speak up for badgers and draw attention to the horrible things that happen to this poor animal."
"Andy used his celebrity to bring attention to the cause, and I’m pleased to continue that work – as well as bring Badger back to his adoring public, who may be unaware of the perils his kin are facing."
He continued: "I’m a children’s entertainer by trade, and it was my son who really bonded with Badger when he saw an episode of ‘Bodger and Badger’. He’s autistic and found Badger really helps him, so I created a version for him – and Bodger’s Badger has developed from there. I’m really pleased to be able to help badgers, and all with the blessing of Andy’s family."
Badger, who wanted to make sure he got a word in, said: ‘I’m really pleased to have my new mate Ash (or M’ash, as I like to call him) to have new adventures with, and also clean up after me."
"It’s been a while since I was able to speak up for badgers and I hope to bring people into the campaign to Can the Cull for good. It needs to stop, and it would be great if people can join Badger Trust’s campaigns to help me and my mates.’’
The BBC series ‘Badger and Bodger’ ran for nine series between 1989 and 1999, with a special campaign outing for Badger and Bodger in 2013 for animal welfare charity ‘Care for the Wild’ (since merged with Born Free). In the film ‘Bodger and Badger…go to Somerset’, the pair deal with the issue of the badger cull, with Badger thinking the Government had invited him to go paintballing, when in fact the shooting had a much darker purpose…
Badger Trust, a registered charity, is the voice for badgers in England and Wales, working to promote and enhance the welfare, conservation and protection of badgers, their setts, and their habitats. It uses advocacy, education and campaigns, plus works with a network of over 50 local groups, to champion the cause of the badger.
Further information
Badger and Ash talk about starting to work with Badger Trust in this video (2 mins)
Watch the 2013 film for Care for the Wild ‘Bodger and Badger…Go to Somerset’ (4 mins) and read more in the original release, Bodger and Badger are Back! TV Favourites Return For a One-Off Anti-Badger Cull Special.
The 2022 badger cull starts from 1st June, under Supplementary Licences issued by Natural England. To date, almost 176,000 badgers have been killed as part of what Badger Trust believes is a failed and groundless attempt to control bovine Tuberculosis in cattle. The latest statistics can be found in our news release, ‘Badger Trust outraged as latest cull figures reveal record proportion killed by inhumane shooting.'
Badger Trust also runs the ‘Give Badgers A Brake’ campaign, focusing on badger road deaths and collisions, which Bodger’s Badger mentions in the film.
Ash White has created Bodger’s Badger with the permission of the Andy Cunningham estate. See more from Bodger's Badger via their social channels:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodgersbadger2021
