[Rosemary]

This is NOT intended to be controversial. We don't have badgers here, in fact, I think the population of badgers in Scotland is relatively modest - so I have no personal experience of badgers. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a badger in real life, alive or dead.

So this is just a random question - why are badgers a protected species?

[Me]

Knee jerk response to persecution, badger baiting etc  when the numbers were very low. There are so many here there are new tracks through hedges and holes in pig wire appearing daily in some of my fields. They seem to prefer to smash a new hole than go two feet to the left and use the one they smashed last night. Considering electric only as it seems pointless using wire.

[ramon]

Badgers are common in this part of Scotland. 3 active sets within a mile of my home.
They do dig under my fences and I have just about given up blocking the holes up as they just dig them out again. Am also considering electric fencing but that would be an expensive solution.
I think they are protected as their numbers were once low but numbers are not low here.
They do not seem to be a problem, although a few get killed on the road each year, and am not aware of them taking lambs, although foxes would be blamed for this anyway.
.

[Porterlauren]

As Me said, a daft knee jerk reaction. And once protected its almost impossible to remove that status.

They are a real pest and numbers are huge. They do a hell of a lot of environmental damage and defiantly kill lambs!

[Marches Farmer]

Ripped the side of my neighbour's (very sturdy) chicken house and killed 23 hens. Unfortunately the general population buy into the gruff-but-kindly Badger as portrayed in the Wind in the Willows and clearly haven't had an encounter with those claws.  Only UK wildlife to prey on hedgehogs.  What about poor Mrs Tiggywinkle, eh?   A local farmer found one eating a downer cow from the udder inwards.

[Buttermilk]

Badgers knocked over my Dads beehives and ate the brood and honey.

[lord flynn]

we have tons of badgers here in S Lanarkshire and we had loads in East Lothian as well. I am pretty sure its what steals my chicken food and I saw a massive one at my driveway gate the other night when I got home from work. We see them regularly-more often than foxes.


Local farmer who lambs outside reckons he loses lambs to badgers every year-especially newborns lambed by walls/hedges for shelter. Badgers eat the belly first (so I'm told) as opposed to foxes who remove them or the main parts of them unless disturbed. He doesn't particularly dislike them but thinks there are too many. I know of four large sets locally.


I'd once seen a badger in Sussex about 27 years ago and that was it in England-seen lots now.

[harmony]

We are over run with them. As other posters have said they will rip the side off your hen hut to get in. They do take lambs and they can dig up a field overnight. They are hit on the road regularly here and farmers with machinery have to take care near setts as there are cases of machines falling through into them. My son and his friend were chased for some way along a path by an adult badger.

[clydesdaleclopper]

It has it's roots in the early 1800's and the social reform movement. The prevailing idea was that the prevention of cruelty to animals was required to preserve the fabric and morals of society. Once protection was in place it was consolidated and strengthened over the years with little thought for whether there was any real need to continue the protection regime.

[Me]

No, they banned it as it often led to drunkenness and rioting - they couldn't care less about the bull (I think it was bull baiting banned first) or badger!

[clydesdaleclopper]

You are correct that it was bull baiting banned first (in 1822) but it wasn't just to prevent rioting and drinking, it was more about how participation in such activities compromised the morals of those engaged in it - sad git that I am I covered the history of wildlife legislation in my doctorate    I have always thought that William Windhams's quote on the Cruelty to Animals Bill of 1809 that it should be entitled "A Bill for Harassing and Oppressing Certain Classes Among the Lower Orders of His Majesty's Subjects" is quite apposite for much of today's legislation

[Me]

  We wont split hares (sillegal  )     wheres a bullbaiting emoji when you need one?

[Talana]

Over run with Badgers in Scotland as you don't tend to see them don't mean they are not there. I have never seen one except dead ones on the road but you see there signs everywhere. (Although my other half has seen them -up early in the morning) In today's Scottish Farmer a letter from somebody asking the same question as they had eaten a ewe lambs udder and consequently the ewe lamb had to be put down. I would say huge shortage of hedgehogs now cos too many badgers. I had a friend who wanted to rehome hedgehogs from wildlife hospital her surroundings were perfect for hedgehogs but they couldn't be released on her farm as there were too many badgers! The damage they do to poultry is horrendous and the henhouse and fencing I am waiting to see what will happen if a main road near us starts to collapse as there's badgers a tunneling underneath it!

[clydesdaleclopper]

[member=35918]Me[/member] I am curious now about your background as I don't often come across people who know about this area ( I need a nosey old git emoticon here  )

[Rosemary]

You are correct that it was bull baiting banned first (in 1822) but it wasn't just to prevent rioting and drinking, it was more about how participation in such activities compromised the morals of those engaged in it - sad git that I am I covered the history of wildlife legislation in my doctorate    I have always thought that William Windhams's quote on the Cruelty to Animals Bill of 1809 that it should be entitled "A Bill for Harassing and Oppressing Certain Classes Among the Lower Orders of His Majesty's Subjects" is quite apposite for much of today's legislation

Interesting that fox hunting and grouse shooting wasn't banned too.