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Introduction

Some badgers are killed in the name of pest control, because they cause problems, such as digging holes which are a hazard to horses and other livestock. However, most are hunted for their fur, and for the enjoyment that hunters derive from their pastime. I will look at each of these reasons in more detail.

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Hunting for fur

Badger fur is said to be extremely durable, "heavy, warm, and somewhat rugged, the long silvery guard hair covers a dense underfur which should be white or tan" [w066]. This fur is used for coats - it takes 17 badgers to make one coat [w079] - and for coat trimmings [w067]. Their pelts, hair and other parts of their bodies are also used for a variety of other purposes. A thorough search of the World Wide Web show that badgers take on a number of rather sad forms in death:

• Hats. These come in a number of varieties. There's the Mountain Man badger hat [w068]. The picture I have seen of this hat being worn by a rather gormless-looking model would make me fall over laughing if it wasn't for the fact that a badger had to die in order for the wearer to look that ridiculous. Then there are the Daniel Boone hats, which are hand sewn in the USA and come with [w069] or without [w070] an animal's face on the front. The plain Daniel Boone retailed at $110 dollars in 1998.
• Mounted specimens. The Animal Art Taxidermy Studio says: "if it's wild and furry..we'll tame it for you" [w071].
• Fur rugs with head mounted. One was priced at $450.00 in 1998. [w072]
• Badger bags. One of these described on a web page I found measured 6"x24"x2" and weighed 2 pounds. [w073]
• Sporrans. If you really want a badger full masked sporran hanging about your groin, then you can acquire a Craigie Original for $350.00 ($400.00 if you want the badger's mouth to be open). Personally, I can't imagine anything more hideous. [w074-01]
• Indian artifacts, e.g. a Badger Spirit Shield for $400.00. This is: "made from a full badger pelt stitched to a 27in diameter ring decorated with 12 turkey wing feathers, buckskin, buffalo horn fringe, and the skull from the badger". [w075]
• Fishing flies, such as the Little Brook Trout Streamer, the wing of which is made of: "sparse white bucktail over which is orange and bright green bucktail, over which is sparse badger hair or gray squirrel tail" [w076]. Badger fur, compared with the fur of other animals, apparently has "both guard hairs and under fur of suitable length to be used in unison for both wings and tails" [w077].

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Hunting for pleasure

Although badgers and other mammals are trapped so that their pelts can be sold, many hunters also derive enjoyment from their activities. The North Dakota Furtakers Educational Manual has the following to say about the reasons why people trap badgers and other animals:

"Many people trap for the recreational values involved and feel that trapping is one of the best of sports. Certainly most trappers gain a lot of enjoyment from trapping. They also learn a great deal about nature and the ways of animals that they could not learn from books or from most other outdoor activities. The very nature of trapping means that it is a challenge. It consists of trying to outsmart some of Mother Nature's wild animals that are noted for and survive by their cunning" [w062-02].

Personally, I find that trying to watch, study and take photographs of wild animals brings exactly the same benefits, along with another, even greater reward: the knowledge that I have found enjoyment from wild animals without harming them.

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Picture credits

The American badger photo used at the head of this Article is a public domain image provided by the US Fish & Wildlife Service; photographer Gary Stolz. Credits for the photos used in the right-hand margin of this page for site navigation can be found on the Credits page.

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