Badgers & the Law

Scotland’s badgers are the most protected badgers in the UK. Through changes to the law in 2004 & 2011, a much wider culpability was introduced. You can view a full copy of The Protection of Badgers Act here.

The law specifies that it is an offence to:

• kill, injure, take, possess or cruelly ill-treat a badger
• interfere with a sett by damaging or destroying it
• obstruct access to, or any entrance of, a badger sett
• disturb a badger whilst it is occupying a sett
• cause a dog to enter a sett
• possess, sell or offer for sale a live badger
• be in possession or control of a dead badger or anything derived from a dead badger

Some of these include intentional or reckless acts. Often people take the law into their own hands when a badger becomes a perceived nuisance, but the law clearly allows for certain actions to be carried out under licence. Licensing information can be found on the NatureScot website, or read below.

There is often confusion about who should be contacted if there is a crime identified. The first priorities at any scene is your own safety and of those around you, the welfare of any injured animals, and the preservation of the scene for subsequent investigation. ALL crimes or suspected crimes should be reported by using the 101 or 999 number as appropriate. When this is done an incident number should be obtained and noted.

If the incident is historical – Contact Police Scotland on 101.

If the incident is ongoing and there is a threat to health or property – Contact Police Scotland on 999. Give details to the Service Centre Advisor.  The nearest unit will attend at the scene.

If the incident involves an injured or distressed animal – Contact the Scottish SPCA on 03000 999 999 and then follow the above steps for contacting Police Scotland.

If you are not sure what you’ve seen is a crime – please contact our Operations Coordinator directly or use our report an incident form.

Once you have contacted the police and/or the Scottish SPCA please send brief details of the incident, including the incident number, to our Operations Coordinator as soon as possible. This enables us to follow this up and enter the information on our National Incidents Database.

If you discover what you believe may be a scene of crime do not interfere with anything. Retreat as carefully as you can and take photographs/video if possible. Whilst the public have the right to roam for the purposes of surveying and monitoring setts, they have no powers to enter or remain on land to investigate crime. If you believe a crime has been committed then you must not re-attend the site unless in the company of an investigatory body and at their request.

Unfortunately due to a combination of long-held prejudices, misinformation and for some the misplaced belief in ‘traditional activities’, badgers face an incredibly high range of persecution. Some of the more common types are listed below, but are in no way exhaustive. While the killing of badgers is often difficult to secure evidence of, sett interferences are often commonly encountered.

Badger Baiting & Sett Digging

Badger baiting involves the use of terrier dogs to enter a badger sett, trap the badger in place, which is then extracted by digging down into the sett, before it is set upon by other, usually larger breed dogs. The fighting will always result in the death of the badger, but can also cause extensive injuries to the dogs involved, including significant lower jaw injuries and disfigurement. Equipment used includes a number of dogs, spades, nets and radio transmitter collars. It can occur during the day and night time, and takes several hours.

Often the only evidence of this activity is the dug pit, or ‘crowning down hole’, which is either left open, or backfilled, leaving a shallow depression in the group. These can be identified by their squared shape, and sometimes spade marks and cut roots can be noted. These will often be found toward the back of an entrance hole, but sometimes sett entrances can also be dug back. If the digging looks very recent, it’s important to preserve any evidence and keep from walking around too much. Try and note whether there are any items present that could be used as evidence or used for forensics.

Badger baiting is an incredibly violent act, and the people involved often have a history of similar violent crimes. If you witness this happening, it is important you do not approach those involved, but call the Police on 999 immediately while keeping safe. If able to do so, make a note of the description of the individuals involved (clothing etc.), the dogs present (colour, breed etc.), equipment being used, and if a vehicle is present, the make, model and colour, and registration plate. If you come across a dug sett, notify 101 and ourselves.

Snaring

Snares are currently still legal in Scotland, however it is illegal to deliberately snare a badger. A legal snare will have a visible ID tag, which can be queried with the local Wildlife Crime Liaison Officer on 101. Legal snares are set in a way to ‘trap’ an animal in place, but not strangle it outright, and will have a ‘stopper’ which prevents it tightening too much. These should not be set anywhere near a badger sett or path. They must be checked every 24 hours. For further information on snares and the law, please see our guidance.

Unfortunately we see many illegal snares, often crude bits of wire or rope without stoppers that catch indiscriminately. These are often rarely checked, and result in stress, horrific injuries, suffocation and death. If you are sure the snare is illegal, take photos of it in situ, try to disarm it by closing the loop without touching it, and call the Police on 101.

Badgers will fight hard against being snared, and in their struggle with form a circle of heavily disturbed ground known as a ‘doughnut’. These are often still visible long after the badger and snare is gone. If the snare is set next to a obstruction, such as a fence, the doughnut may only be partial.

If you find a live badger in a snare, you must not attempt to remove it yourself. While badgers have thick hides and may not appear to have external injuries, their internal organs can get damaged, so it’s vital the SSPCA is notified immediately to ensure the badger is safely removed and taken for a check over. If there is a dead badger in a snare, the Police and ourselves should be notified.

Sett Blocking

Setts can be blocked via a number of different methods – soft blocking refers to the use of objects like bundles of sticks, or filled sacking, which can often be associated with hunt activity, and hard blocking, which refers to heavy items such as rubble, or well compacted soil. In the case of the latter, this could indicate Cyanide gassing, and therefore extreme caution should be taken. Do not attempt to unblock this yourself, as the gas is able to kill humans even in small doses.

If all entrances have been blocked, it is important for the Police to attend as soon as possible for welfare reasons, as the sett will need to be unblocked to allow any badgers out. You should check with the call handler as to whether you can take photos of the block before removing these yourself if attendance isn’t to be the same day.

Agricultural Activity

If there is a sett entrance within 30m of where there is planned agricultural operations, a licence should be applied for through NatureScot. These ONLY permit someone to ‘interfere’ with a sett for the purpose above. Machinery passing within 30m of a sett entrance increases the risk of sett damage, and possible injury to badgers. These can easily be avoided if sufficient buffers are created, however as fields are expanded to the very edges of their margins, it is becoming an ever increasing issue

Unfortunately there are prejudices against badgers in some farming communities, who allow these beliefs to commit atrocious acts, such as pumping slurry down sett entrances. If you have any concerns regarding a sett, please get in touch to discuss, or see our Badgers & Farming page for more information.

Forestry Activity

It is not necessarily illegal to fell trees on a badger sett, however if felling is to occur within 20m of an active sett, the works will need to be under a Standard Forestry Operations license through NatureScot. This comes with strict conditions, such as time of year (no works unless under a special licence between Dec – June, where the buffer extends to 30m), hand felling on the sett area, clearance of brash from entrances and paths, and no machinery within 20m of the sett. These ONLY permit someone to ‘interfere’ with a sett for the purpose above.

Either due to an absence of pre-commencement surveys, uncertainty in identifying a badger sett, or ignoring the conditions on a licence, many instances of sett damage and destruction are avoidable. You can check if felling work has permission through the Scottish Forestry register, although please note there are some exemptions for what requires permission. If you have concerns regarding a badger sett in an area due to be felled or planted, check the register and contact the relevant Woodland Officer for that case. They will be able to add a condition to the permissions that a survey is required. Otherwise contact us to discuss, or the Police if works are underway.

Please see our Badgers & Development/Forestry page for more information.

Development Activity

Much like above, development work near a badger sett is not necessarily illegal, but any works within 30m of an active badger sett will require a licence through NatureScot, although this buffer can be extended if there are more disruptive works planned, such as pile-driving or blasting. In the case of quarries, this buffer can be 100m. Licences are only issued during the breeding season (Dec – June) in very extenuating circumstances. These ONLY permit someone to ‘interfere’ with a sett for the purpose above.

Either due to an absence of ecological surveys, or ignoring the conditions on a licence, many instances of sett damage and destruction are avoidable. An ecologist would usually be associated with a development, and it is their responsibility to identify where there are setts, and ways in which to protect or mitigate any potential damage. Information pertaining to wider wildlife surveys can often be found on the relevant councils’ online Planning Portal, which will list the planning status and associated documents. As badgers are deemed a sensitive species, information pertaining to them is often either redacted or excluded, however the Case Officer can confirm whether this has been produced. Otherwise contact us to discuss, or the Police if works are underway.

Please see our Badgers & Development/Forestry page for more information.

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