How to Handle Badgers on a Development Project Site

A badger survey might be required to support a planning application, or in a situation where a badger sett is discovered during the completion of development works. If you are planning a development project where badgers may be present in the area, it’s important to understand why a badger survey might be needed, what’s involved in one, and what to expect if badgers are found to be present on your development site.

Badger Behaviour and Ecology

The badger is a native UK species with widespread distribution. Reports suggest that there are an estimated 485,000 wild badgers in the UK. Badger setts range in size depending on how they are used and can be found in a range of different habitats such as hedgerows, woodlands, and scrub, along with in urban environments such as back gardens or even sports fields. The badger sett will often be dug into raised banks such as railway embankments. They are usually situated away from any wet ground.

Badgers are active all year around; however, their activity will typically decrease over the winter months. Badger cubs tend to be born in February, and by July they will be beginning to forage independently, feeding on berries and fruit along with small invertebrates and earthworms.

A badger sett is a complex structure. There are different types of setts that are used for a range of purposes. A main sett will have an entrance hole and will be used on a daily basis depending on the time of year. The main sett is where breeding will take place. There are also annex setts, which tend to be associated with the main sett and will be connected to it with a clear path. There are also subsidiary setts, which tend to be located a fair distance from the main sett and do not have any connecting paths. They typically have fewer than five holes and are infrequently used. Outlier setts only tend to have one or two holes, are a greater distance from the main sett without any linking paths, and are used less frequently.

Badgers tend to live in social groups without overlapping territories. The placement of latrines is used to mark their territory.

How Badgers are Protected

In 1992, the Protection of Badgers Act was passed with the main aim of preventing cruel treatment towards badgers and sett destruction. This has, however, some implications for developments where there are badgers present. According to UK law, it is an offence to kill, injure, take or attempt to take a badger. It is also against the law to dig for a badger, treat badgers cruelly, possess, or sell any part of a badger. You will also be breaking the law if you damage, destroy, or obstruct access to a sett, or disturb a badger when they are occupying their sett. Penalties for doing so include fines up to £5000 and 6-month custodial sentences.

What to Expect from a Badger Survey

Typically, a badger survey will consist of two elements. These include a walkover survey to search for any evidence of badgers on site. There will also be a survey for the purpose of monitoring any setts for signs of badger activity. You should consider a specialist animal surveyor to carry the survey out. Badger surveys can be conducted at any time of the year; however, they are usually best conducted between the months of February and April or September and November. This is because these are the times of the year when badger setts are least likely to be obscured by vegetation. Along with this, badgers tend to be the most active at these times of the year. In most cases, the presence of badgers will be identified during the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal.

Some evidence to look out for include active setts that are complete with clearly defined paths and spoil heaps. There may be discarded bedding situated outside of sett entrances, droppings and latrines, footprints and trails, badger hairs that have gotten caught on bramble or fences, scratch marks on trees that are located nearby to the sett, and push throughs where the badgers have created tunnels through hedgerows or dense scrub.

What Does a Badger Sett Look Like?

Badger setts can usually be distinguished from fox earths and rabbit warrens due to several features. These include the size of badger sets, as they are large, with entrance holds that are rounded on the top and flat at the base. Unlike rabbit warrens, which narrow quickly even when the entrance hole is large, badger tunnels will remain wide throughout their length. Badgers tend to use latrines away from the sett, while rabbit warrens will usually have droppings that are present outside the entrance hole on the top of the spoil heap.

Monitoring the Sett

In some situations, foxes, rabbits, or other wildlife might take over badger setts that are no longer used. In these cases, it might be unclear as to which species are using the sett. To determine whether the badger sett is still being used by badgers or another animal, sett monitoring can be used. Where badgers are present, the process of sett monitoring will allow it to be classified as a main, annex, outlier or subsidiary set. Understanding the type of sett that has been found is crucial when it comes to determining the level of mitigation that is needed.

Monitoring a sett is usually a process that is conducted over a three- or four-week period. It involves setting up camera traps that record badgers coming into and out of the set. Sand may also be laid outside of the sett to record badger footprints, along with sticks that are wrapped with sticky tape to capture badger hairs.

Since badgers are a protected species in the UK, it’s important to determine if they are present on the site if you are planning a development project. Any badgers and setts that are found should be surveyed and carefully monitored in order to put mitigation plans in place.