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Introduction

Over much of its range, the Eurasian badger is neither rare or endangered. In a number of areas however, the badger population has been greatly reduced by human actions, and the animal has become a rarity. This is because the badger's meat, fur and fat, its lack of road sense, its ability to withstand great suffering, its vulnerability to certain diseases, its habit of living in conspicuous underground setts (and living in the same setts for generations), and its dependence on these setts for its survival, have all combined to make the badger very vulnerable to a wide range of threats. Understanding the nature of these threats is the key to being able to do something about them.

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Road casualties

Sadly, the sight of dead badgers lying on the side of the road is an all too familiar one in the UK and Holland. The official estimate is that 50,000 meet their deaths in Britain through RTAs every year. Most of these fatalities are probably quite quick, but many badgers are injured and suffer long, agonizing deaths rather than being killed outright. [More info.]

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New roads and other developments

The building of new roads adds even more to the already vast length of highways on which badgers can be killed. New roads also generate even more traffic, thus increasing the number of deaths on existing roads as well. Even worse, as the bypasses, trunk roads and motorways cut a swathe through the countryside, they often destroy badger feeding grounds, and badger setts. Other new developments - housing estates and industrial parks - have similar results. The extraction of the minerals needed for the building of all these new roads, houses etc can also lead to the destruction of setts - badgers like to dig their homes in sandstone, and glacial sands and gravels, and these are much favoured by quarry companies seeking to satisfy the demands of of the construction industry.

The building of new roads and other developments is a big problem for badgers in Britain and Holland.

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Hunting and 'pest control' activities

Badgers are hunted and 'controlled' - legally and otherwise - in most of those countries in which they occur. There are several reasons why:

• To obtain meat, fur and / or fat. In a number of less developed countries, badgers are still taken as a source of meat, and the animal's fat or grease is believed by many to have medicinal properties. Badger hair is also used quite extensively in the manufacture of brushes, for use by artists, and of course for the traditional shaving brush. Germany is the main centre for the manufacture of these brushes.
• To reduce the numbers of an animal which is seen as a pest. Various 'pest control' methods, usually targetted at foxes and rabbits, also cause the death of unknown numbers of badgers. Some of these deaths occur by accident, but on occasion badgers are deliberately hunted or otherwise killed, in the belief that they pose some kind of threat to crops, livestock or game. For example, according to one Swedish hunter's web page, "badger is hunted, not for eating but [because] they are noxious animals, bringing about great damage for, above all, field and forest birds".
• For 'sport', or for the 'fun' that some people derive from hunting animals. The traditional hunting of badgers (and other animals) for economic reasons has developed in some countries into a form of recreation, 'sport hunting'.

For some people however, it is sadistic pleasure that motivates them to maim and kill badgers.

Sadly, it seems that where the torture and killing of wildlife is concerned, the ingenuity of mankind knows no bounds, and every year thousands of badgers are subjected to needless suffering and death by a variety of methods:

• Badger baiting. The badger is placed into a specially dug baiting pit or other makeshift arena from which it cannot escape. Then a succession of dogs is set upon it for the entertainment of the sub-human audience. Ultimately, no matter how well it tries to defend itself, the badger's fate is sealed. After an hour or more of merciless baiting, Brock, through injury and exhaustion, will not be able to fight any longer. It will then be killed by the baiters. [More info]
• Badger digging. In a badger digging session, a terrier, typically a Jack Russell or Patterdale, is sent down into a badger sett to locate a badger and hold it at bay. The diggers then dig their way down to their quarry. [More info.]
• Lamping and shooting. Lamping (spotlighting), the hunting of animals at night with the aid of bright lights, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Some lampers use 'long dogs' or lurchers to take the quarry that they dazzle with their powerful spotlights. Others mount their spotlights on high-powered firearms and simply shoot their victims. [More info.]
• Snaring and trapping. Snares or traps are a popular means of catching and killing badgers and other animals in many countries. Unfortunately, snares and traps are indiscriminate, and often catch badgers even when they are not the target species. Also, these devices frequently bring about lingering, painful deaths for their victims. [More info.]
• Poisoning and gassing. Just like snares and traps, poisoned baits, set out for predators of game and livestock, are indiscriminate and often kill animals other than the intended victims. Every year in Britain, domestic animals such as dogs, and wild animals such as badgers, are killed in this way. Badgers may also be gassed by accident, by inexperienced pest control operatives who mistake badger setts for rabbit warrens. Deliberate gassing of badger setts does however occur.
• Interference with and destruction of setts. Landowners who want rid of badgers for whatever reason, will sometimes target the homes of their victims. Attempts may be made to "stink out" badgers, by pouring strong-smelling substances into sett entrances. There have also been several cases of slurry being poured down setts, in an attempt to drown the badgers within. In extreme cases, setts have been completely destroyed with the aid of bulldozers.

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Disease 'control' programmes

As if badgers did not have enough problems to contend with, they are also the the subject of unnecessary Government-sanctioned slaughter operations in both Britain and Eire. In both countries, the badger is blamed for spreading tuberculosis (TB) to cattle. As a result, around 30,000 badgers have been killed in Britain. The killing continues today - and the TB problem is no nearer to being solved. [More info.]

In mainland Europe meanwhile, many badgers have been killed as part of the campaign to eradicate rabies. In Belgium for example, it is believed that badger numbers have been reduced by 90% in this way. Fortunately, the use of oral vaccines has now largely replaced the killing of badgers and foxes, and has proved to be a far more effective method of controlling the disease.

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Picture credits

The Eurasian badger photo used at the head of this Article is © Steve Jackson. 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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