The protection of badgers – where are we now?
- Badger Trust Staff Team
- Nov 7, 2022
- 3 min read
In-depth article exposes differences in penalties for badger-related crime across the UK and highlights Protection of Badgers Act failings
The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (“the Act”) recently celebrated thirty years since its original enactment. To mark the occasion, we launched our ‘PBA30 Campaign’ to press the UK Government to make further changes to badger protection law to keep pace with animal welfare legislation.
At the time of its enactment, the Act was viewed as a key piece of legislation as it offered legal recognition to some extent that the persecution of badgers was no longer acceptable. Since 1992, however, whilst much has changed in modern society, badger-related crime across the UK shows little in the way of decline.
In light of the legal recognition of animal sentience, increased penalties for domestic animals and the continued presence of badger-related crime, we launched our PBA30 Campaign. The campaign reflects upon and revisits the Act to understand if it remains fit for its intended purpose – the protection of badgers.
The protection of badgers – where are we now?
A new article, ‘The Protection of Badgers – where are we now?,’ has been prepared for the UK Centre for Animal Law’s (A-Law) Journal on Animal Law, Ethics and Policy. Hannah Darnell – Solicitor and Member of A-Law’s Wildlife Working and Scottish Steering Groups – considers the efficacy of the Act in more depth together with the arguments which form part of our PBA30 Campaign.
Badger Trust’s position is that the Act has failed to catch up as sentencing for animal welfare has moved on, leaving a distinct inequality between sentencing for domestic and wild animals. Our PBA30 campaign calls for the UK Government to bring sentencing under the Act up-to-date to allow for consistency in how the law protects different animals.
Furthermore, badgers deserve recognition as sentient beings needing maximum welfare protection, in line with domestic animals; this would include a term of imprisonment that would act as an effective deterrent to potential offenders.
We also called for badger-related crimes to be made notifiable to the Home Office in England to allow for the actual level of badger crime to be known, accurately assessed, reported on and tackled.
Irregular penalties across the UK for badger persecution
Hannah’s article delves deeper into our arguments. It sets out the legal position to help our supporters understand why we have taken this position and the irregularities in penalties available for badger-related crime across the UK. It also highlights the disconnect between the Act and subsequent animal welfare legislation, which appears to fall in favour of domestic animals.
The article has been a labour of love for Hannah, who stated:
“I have a very strong affinity with badgers, both through my prior work with Scottish Badgers and my role as the manager of a rewilding and conservation project in Scotland, which gives me the opportunity to learn more about the clans living on site.
I have a strong sense of justice, and it irks me that, whilst protected, badgers continue to be persecuted right across the UK.
“Through monitoring cases in Scotland, I started to identify various issues with the Protection of Badgers Act, particularly in relation to the inequalities between domestic and wild animals. This prompted me to dig a little deeper into the Act to understand more. I must confess, I fell into a bit of a rabbit hole as I started to look at the picture right across the UK, and it surprised me to see how protections differ across jurisdictions.
I support the Badger Trust’s PBA30 Campaign to address the inequalities that the Act raises for badgers and potentially other wild animals.”
Horrific badger persecution continues to take place across the UK, and a strong message needs to be sent out to potential offenders that this will not be tolerated. We can only do this by pressing for change.
Further Information
To learn more about the work of the UK Centre for Animal Law, please visit www.alaw.org.uk
Help us campaign for tougher sentences
You can join our PBA30 campaign and add your voice to our call for better protection for badgers. We wrote to the Defra Secretary of State to ask for extended sentencing for badger crime. This would mean sentences for crimes such as badger baiting and shooting would present a real deterrent to badger abusers.
You can write to the Defra Secretary of State and your MP too. The more letters they receive, the more chance we have of bringing about change, and as quickly as possible.
Act for Badgers
To help make a change for badgers, please visit our PBA30 Campaign page for more details on how you can support our campaign and make a difference for these iconic native animals.
