Dangers of Development: Every year nearly 47,000 badgers are killed on roads. This number accounts for half of all badger deaths. Unable to adapt to increasing levels of traffic, families of badgers near busy roads quickly die. But new roads have been built with special fencing to keep badges away and under passages that allow the animals to pass safely underneath.

In Great Britain, many die from electrified railway lines not knowing how to use the crossing gaps provided by British Rail.  Housing in rural areas threatens setts (badger burrows), but some developers now cooperate with local badger protection groups and alter their plans when necessary to preserve a sett.

The Badger & TB: Badgers, like cattle, can suffer from bovine tuberculosis (TB). The British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) gassed thousands of badgers in the 1970s and early 80s, but this method was not successful. Instead of being gassed badgers with TB are now lured into a cage and shot. Nearly 800 badgers are killed each year with this expensive process. A vaccine to increase the badgers immunity to the disease in now available but the MAFF is researching its effect on cattle before using it on badgers in Great Britain.

Killing Badgers for Sport: Digging for badgers as sport has almost left to their extinction in southern Wales and South Yorkshire in England. The digger forest sends a terrier with a transmitter on its collar down a hole to trap the badger. The digger digs up the area indicated by the transmitter and kills the badger. Each year 9,000 setts are dug in this summer.  Less often, people bait badgers. The badger is caught and put in a contained area where dogs attack it. Enraged, the badger fiercely defends itself until killed.

Snares: In some rural areas, free running snares are used to control foxes and rabbits. The loops in the snares loosen if the captive animal stops struggling. Some snares accidentally catch badgers. Most badgers can free themselves, but some die. It is now illegal to snare badgers in Great Britain without a license from the Nature Conservancy Counsel.

What is being done: Badger Friends: In Great Britain, nearly 50 badger groups watch and protect local setts, or borrows. With local counsels, they pinpoint setts at risk from development. They work with railways to install rail crossings for the badgers. The groups log and provide new information on badger behavior and problems. They also try to catch and prosecute hunters.

The badger and the law: The Badgers Act of 1973 and the Wildlife and Countryside Acts of 1981 and 1985 make it illegal to kill, injure, or trap a badger in Great Britain. In previous court cases, some defendants claimed they were digging for foxes or rabbits, which are both unprotected species. Now diggers have to prove they were not committing an offense.  The Criminal Justice Act of 1988 allows judges to remove dogs from owners caught digging out or killing badges. A high fine (L 2,000) is the maximum penalty for killing or capturing a badger in Great Britain. A badger helper will lay a scent animals from nearby burrows to use the road underpass. The badger adapts slowly to change, and it needs help like this to survive the hazards of the modern world. Shaving brushes are made from pelts of badgers killed in rabies control programs in Asia and Germany.

To return to animal menu click here