Busy for badgers! Badger groups tackle rising rates of hunt-related sett blocking

We speak to volunteers about their experiences protecting badgers in hunt season.

Badger Trust represents a network of more than 50 badger groups across the breadth of England and Wales, each volunteer group acting as a vital resource in safeguarding local badger populations.

Did you know Badger Trust was initially known as the Federation of Badger Groups? The hard work of badger groups across England and Wales drove positive change for badgers. The Federation campaigns were primarily responsible for implementing the Protection of Badgers Act in 1992, a landmark legislation giving badgers unrivalled legal protections against the harms caused by badger baiting and other forms of persecution.

But what is the role of a Badger Group? And what are group members up to at this time of year, when badger cubs are being born deep within the safety of the badger sett?

The role of badger groups

Volunteers run local badger groups. Their services can vary from group to group, depending on how many volunteers they have and when they’re available. Badger Groups always need more volunteers to help with their work locally.

Services can include:​

• Sett surveying, recording, and monitoring: this can help safeguard setts, monitor them for interference, and provide information to inform planning and development proposals. It can also be a great way to watch badgers!

• Rescuing and facilitating the rehabilitation of injured or orphaned badgers: this is often carried out in conjunction with local wildlife rescues (and in accordance with the Badger Rehabilitation Protocol)

• Responding to threats to badgers, their setts and habitats: this could include activity like monitoring setts known to be under threat and liaising with local police or other interested parties, or responding to road traffic collisions where a badger could still be helped, or there may be orphaned cubs

• Giving advice to landowners, statutory agencies and others concerning the lawful management of badger-related problems

• Delivering assistance to the RSPCA, Police and other responsible authorities on badger-related matters

• Giving talks and running events about the lives of badgers, the threats they face and the work of the local badger group. This helps to educate and engage the public and local community on local and national badger issues

• Supporting Badger Trust national campaigns at a local level

February is a busy time of year for Badger Groups!

For many badgers, February is a time for gradual and slow emergence from the sett after a winter of torpor and welcoming new life when cubs are born. Unfortunately, it is also, a time when badgers need additional safeguarding from illegal persecution. Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, it is illegal to harm or disturb a badger and their sett, whether by malicious intent or negligence, including sett blocking (blocking sett entrances with debris, such as soil or bricks). Although badgers might be able to dig their way out, this is rare for cubs dependent on their mothers, and sadly, many adult badgers will suffocate before breaking free.

Badger sett interference 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. Huntsmen and terrier men block the entrances to badger setts in the lead-up to a hunt so that foxes cannot use badger setts for refuge.

Whilst huntsmen 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 takes part in legal trail hunting.

The true toll of hunt-related sett blocking

With the hunting season running from November to May, February is peak sett-blocking season and a crucial time for our badger group volunteers. Yet, continued and persistent illegal blocking takes its toll on volunteers, who are seeing an increase in the number of blocked setts despite both sett blocking and fox hunting being prohibited by law. One volunteer explained: “Sett blocking in our county by several fox hunts is a continual problem. After the Hunting Act (2004) was introduced, we considered there was a reduction in blocking. But over the years since then, despite the Act, blocking has continued to increase. How many innocent badgers die from starvation or suffocation?” Another volunteer expressed similar frustrations at the unrelenting rate of wildlife persecution inflicted by the hunt: “Blocking is a huge problem. We have six hunts. Most are out four days a week and – at a conservative guess – will be blocking four setts at each meeting. I’d say that I’m checking two or three times a week, whether when out hunt monitoring or doing post-hunt checks. Every Sunday is entirely given over to sett checking.” It is a laborious task to check each sett within an active hunt area. Even then, not all setts will be known about, making those setts even more vulnerable. Volunteers are also often faced with the fact that badgers they have known and loved for many years might be the next innocent victim. The emotional toll of this situation was made clear by another Badger Group volunteer who explained:

“At setts that I check very regularly, I really feel I know the badgers and each sett has its own character. I note little changes – new digging at one hole, a pile of bedding being brought in at another. For people like me, a well-used latrine is a delight. The amount of digging tends to be a good barometer of how happy the badgers are.

One of the things that endear me to badgers is how much they love their home. So, it is devastating to find that a sett that has been thriving with bustling activity one week is suddenly desolate on the next visit – buried under clods of sodden clay and vandalised by spades, boot prints, and quad bike tracks.

I think of the badgers at nightfall, so eager to go out to feed and play but finding their way blocked as they are entombed in their own homes, with the air becoming thinner. All too apparent is the cruel spite of the terrier men – slabs and logs rammed down entrances to make it near impossible for the badgers to get out. Sometimes there is a pathetic attempt to disguise their handiwork with a sprinkling of leaves over the sealed entrances.

Even after unblocking, the sett often takes several weeks to recover. Some setts are blocked every three weeks until even slight signs of activity fail to appear, a real sadness if this is a sett that one has visited for years. Often, there are many long-blocked entrances – giving a haunting outline of how the sett has been diminished as it is worn down by repeated visits from the terrier men.

And blocking is often in conjunction with a dig-out. A terrible thing to see a crude gash of a hole into a sett tunnel and to imagine the horror that took place here for all animals concerned – foxes, badgers and terriers.” Many Badger Group members echoed these feelings. One volunteer noted: “It is such a sinking feeling when you get the call to say a blocked sett has been found. You cannot help thinking how the badgers feel; have they managed to get out of any entrances, or are they still trapped in there?” As first responders, Badger Group members will spend a lot of time reporting sett blocking incidents to Badger Trust and the police. Volunteers are well-versed in sett surveying and collecting evidence of current use (to prove the sett was occupied by badgers), and illegal persecution (evidence that can be used in a court of law to secure a legal prosecution). While recording evidence is crucial for securing a prosecution, documenting the evidence can be time-consuming. One of the volunteers we spoke with explained:

“In addition to being out and about checking setts, there’s the admin that this crime generates —online crime forms to Badger Trust, the League Against Cruel Sports and the police. I always follow up with an email giving details and photos. We also compile an annual record of sett blocking incidents across the counties we work in.”

Thankfully, there are resources that make the administration more efficient and offer guidance on how to record and report badger crimes. Badger Trust’s new Badger Watch app, for example, is becoming a vital resource for the public and Badger Groups alike: “Whilst we’re onsite, it’s important to inform the police straight away. We also email our wildlife crime team the photos and incident number directly and report to Badger Trust. We’ve just started using the Badger Watch App for reporting too, which is very quick and helpful!”

What is Badger Trust doing?

Crime Awareness Resources

Badger Trust has designed a variety of free resources for the public and Badger Groups to make recognising, recording and reporting badger crime easier. The Badger Watch app is FREE to download and guides users on how to recognise, record, and report signs of badger crime, including hunt-related sett blocking.

Educational Resources

Badger Trust has launched a series of educational resources on badger crime, from posters to interactive activities. The “badgers and the law” resources are suitable for college and university-level learners to learn the legal protections of badgers and how to protect local badgers from illegal persecution.

Badger Trust Police Training

Badger Trust trains police forces across England and Wales on how to best respond to badger crime and what evidence to collect to secure successful prosecutions. One of the many amazing successes of the Badger Group network has been building trusted relationships between groups and their local police forces. As one volunteer explained:

“We’ve built up a good working relationship with our local wildlife crime officer and have had some success with setts not being blocked after the landowner has been spoken to.”

Other groups have had to build relationships from the ground up by first proving that badger crime is a common issue in their local area.

Badger crime is not a notifiable offence, which means not all police forces know it is an issue in their jurisdiction. Badger Groups are, therefore, a vital resource for police forces. One group member explained how their efforts led to a greater awareness amongst police of the extent of wildlife crime, resulting in the recruitment of more officers:

“ Our police used to have so few wildlife crime officers and said that they didn't need more as they didn't have reports of wildlife crimes or sett blocking. We, along with some others in the area, have worked hard to check setts regularly and report them when they are blocked, sometimes 8-10 a week have been reported in the past, all in hunt season.

We have also worked hard to educate and train our members on how to check setts, the need for current, up-to-date sett records, how to take an accurate grid reference or what3words etc. The police then realised that there is a lot of this type of crime, and we have more officers now with whom we have built up a good working relationship. “

Call to strengthen legislation

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 protect badgers from sett blocking?

Join your local group

We have an affiliated network of over 50 local badger groups, all run by volunteers and all working to deliver services to help badgers on the ground. This ‘badger army’ is a lifeline for badgers, as the volunteers who give their time and energy to provide services to help and often save badgers – here and now.

Badger Groups rely on volunteers, like you, who care about badgers to help with their work on a local level. Volunteering with a badger group is incredibly rewarding and can be flexible to fit around your life. It is a fantastic way to connect with like-minded people, learn new skills, get out in nature and make an impact for badgers in the local area.

If you don’t have a local group, you can contact Badger Trust, which is keen to speak to anyone interested in forming a new group and can offer support and resources.

If you can’t help set up a local badger group, you can still help badgers by supporting Badger Trust. There are many ways you can help fund our work:

• Join our clan as a supporter

• Donate to our national campaigns and work to support badgers

• Support badgers by buying from our online shop – 100% of the profit from every purchase helps us protect badgers for generations to come.
  

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.

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.

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.

Download the free Badger Watch App.