Badgers

Badgers are nocturnal mammals that eat a wide variety of foods including eathworms, fruit, insects and small mammals. Badgers live underground in setts.

Occasionally badgers can cause problems by digging up lawns. This tends to be a seasonal problem associated with badgers digging up larvae or earthworms to eat. For some people the pleasure of seeing a visiting badger outweighs this problem. However, advice is available for measures to resolve such problems.

The National Federation of Badger Groups (NFBG) provide a wealth of useful information including a leaflet entitled Badgers in your garden.

For more information on badgers see the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website.

Badgers are a protected species, the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes it an offence to harm a badger or interfere with a badger sett.

For developers there are strict regulations as to what sort of activity can take place within a particular distance of a sett. A licence may be required in some instances and Natural England provide comprehensive information.