Badger
ECOSA have extensive experience in surveying for badger using specific survey techniques to assess population sizes, status of setts and the extent of foraging habitat. Our project experience includes numerous surveys for proposed development sites including wind turbines, roads, housing developments, racecourses and schools.
Using our survey data to devise appropriate mitigation strategies, we have successful been granted many Natural England licences for development works affecting both badgers and their setts. Mitigation works include the closure of setts, the creation of temporary exclusion zones and the creation of artificial setts.
For further details on badger ecology, legal protection, survey methods and potential mitigation, please see links below.
- Status
- Ecology
- Protection Under UK Legislation
- Survey Methods
- Site Investigation
- Badger Bait Marking Survey
- Survey Timing
- Mitigation
- Links
Status
The badger is generally a widespread and often common species. There are pockets within the UK where densities of badgers are particularly high, most notably in the west.
Ecology
Badgers occupy a wide range of habitats including coastal cliffs, urban areas and woodland, although highest densities are reached where there is a great deal of cattle pasture.
Badgers live in social groups with a number of setts within their home range and a range of favoured feeding areas linked by pathways.
In Britain, badger activity varies throughout the year. During the winter badgers are least active, although they do not actually hibernate. Badger setts are usually excavated in ground that is free draining and where there is scrub in order to provide the sett with shelter.
There are several recognised types of badger sett. Each family group will have a ‘main’ sett, which is continuously occupied and is usually where breeding occurs. Such setts are vital for the survival of the family group. In addition, the family group will have one or more secondary setts in their home range. These setts fall into three recognised categories, ‘annexe’, ‘subsidiary’, and ‘outlier’ setts. The different setts receive varying levels of use and maybe temporarily occupied by members of the group or simply function as bolt holes when the animals are disturbed whilst away from the main sett.
Protection Under UK Legislation
The 1992 Protection of Badgers Act protects both badgers and their setts from harm or injury. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 is based primarily on the need to protect badgers from baiting and deliberate harm or injury. It also contains restrictions that apply more widely and it is important for developers to know how this may affect their work. All the following are criminal offences:
- to willfully kill, injure, take, possess or cruelly ill-treat a badger;
- to attempt to do so; or
- to intentionally or recklessly interfere with a sett.
Sett interference includes damaging or destroying a sett, obstructing access to a sett, and disturbing a badger whilst it is occupying a sett. The Act defines a badger sett as ‘Any structure or place, which displays signs indicating the current use by a badger’ and Natural England take this definition to include seasonally used setts. The legislation does not directly protect badger habitat or foraging grounds.
It is not illegal, and therefore a licence is not required, to carry out disturbing activities in the vicinity of a sett if no badger is disturbed and the sett is not damaged or obstructed.
Since development operations may take place over a protracted period, Natural England recommends that plans consider the effect of the development on seasonally-used setts as well as currently occupied setts. If a sett has shown signs of occupation within the past few months, it could be in use by badgers when development starts and should therefore be taken into account during the survey and any planning stages of the development. Where interference with a sett showing signs of use cannot be avoided during the development, a licence should be sought from Natural England.
Where works are likely to disturb a badger sett, it is necessary to obtain a licence from the relevant Statutory Nature Conservation Agency, in compliance with the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act. In England this would be obtained from Natural England.
Licences cannot be issued retrospectively so an application should be made at least one month in advance of the proposed work. Work that disturbs badgers without a licence is illegal.
Natural England currently administers licence applications for the following purposes:
- Preventing serious damage to land, crops, poultry or any other form of property (e.g. a house, garden, road etc.);
- Any agricultural or forestry operations;
- Any operation to maintain or improve any existing watercourse or drainage works, or to construct new works required for the drainage of land, including works of defence against sea or tidal water;
- Preventing the spread of disease;
- Development;
- Controlling foxes in order to protect livestock or penned game;
- Ringing and marking;
- Scientific or educational purposes, or conservation; and
- Preservation of ancient monuments or an archaeological investigation.
Survey Methods
Site Investigation
A Phase 1 survey involves a detailed investigation of the site to identify evidence of badger residence, foraging or territorial activity. Areas of grassland and scrub edge are searched for evidence of foraging activity and trails. Particular emphasis is placed on locating badger setts and signs of territorial activity.
Badger Bait Marking Survey
Bait marking relies upon the well-established phenomenon that badgers scent-mark the boundaries of their territories with latrines. The principle behind the technique is that marked bait (bait containing indigestible plastic markers) fed to Sett would result in marked badger dung appearing within latrines used by that social group, thereby delineating the territorial boundary and extent of movement of members of that social group.
Survey Timing
A Phase 1 survey can be carried out throughout much of the year. However, are perhaps most effective when carried out between October and April when vegetation cover is reduced and setts are readily visible and badger activity is high and field signs are more evident.
In general, bait marking investigations undertaken in spring tend to generate the best results, particularly if the aim is to delineate all territory boundaries, as badger territorial scent marking behaviour reaches a peak between February and April, inclusive
Mitigation
ECOSA have successfully obtained a number of Natural England badger licences where a development is likely to impact upon an active badger sett/s. Badger mitigation strategies to offset the impact of development can be complex and highly site specific. Mitigation strategies can include the retention of setts within an exclusion zone, erection of fencing to discourage animals from crossing roads, sympathetic landscape planting with a high proportion of species for foraging badgers, or translocation of setts. It is highly favourable to retain significant main and annexe setts on site unless disturbance, increased mortality or the location of the development footprint threatens the integrity of the sett.
Links
