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Police Scotland launch second phase of year-long wildlife crime campaign focusing on Badger Persecution

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Caerphilly man found guilty for offences against red kites and a badger

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Motherwell man sentenced for badger baiting

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Home / How do we prioritise? / Current UK priorities / Badger Persecution

Badger Persecution

badger66bBadger persecution is one of the UK Wildlife Crime Priorities and comes in many forms ranging from the horrific practice of badger baiting to the avoidable sett disturbance/destruction which can occur when people carry out otherwise legal operations on land such as forestry or agricultural tasks.

 

Badger Baiting

Badger Baiting involves the digging out and killing of badgers in their setts. Dogs wearing radio collars are sent below ground into a badger sett and the radio signal is tracked from above. Once the dog has located a badger the offenders dig down until such time as they reach the dog and badger. The badger is then pulled from the sett and thrown to the dogs which are allowed to kill the animal. Both the dogs and badgers suffer severe injuries often proving fatal to the badger.

Often the dogs do not receive proper veterinary treatment and they suffer terribly as a result. Badgers lucky enough to survive the encounter will obviously go without any kind of treatment for their wounds.

Badgers are killed illegally in many other ways such as snaring, gassing, poisoning, shooting and lamping.

The police, other enforcement agencies and their partners are proactively targeting offenders and seeking information on those who may have involved themselves in criminal activity in relation to badgers and or their setts. The public are urged to act if they have any information on badger baiting activity:

You can report your suspicions on any of the following numbers:

Police 101

 

England & Wales

  • Badger Trust online report form – click here.
  • RSPCA 0300 1234 999
  • League Against Cruel Sports Wildlife Crimewatch on 01483 361108
  • Suspected poisoning/gassing incidents can be reported to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) 0800 321 600
  • Naturewatch Foundation Wildlife Crime Adviser and Secretariat of UK Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group – Andy Swinburne 07392 185 373
  • Naturewatch Foundation Investigation on named individuals concerned in illegal persecution contact: Andrew@naturewatch.org or visit https://naturewatch.org/campaign/badger-baiting-in-the-uk/badger-baiting-take-action

Scotland

  • Scottish Badgers online report form – click here.
  • Scottish SPCA 03000 999 999

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You can also pass information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or click here to use the anonymous online form.

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Badger Sett disturbance by developers

Almost 50% of all incidents recorded by Scottish Badgers and the Badger Trust relate to interference with badger setts ~ most of which could be avoided if the persons involved had sought appropriate advice. These types of offences often involve forestry operations, agricultural tasks and other lawful actions such as development of land for building purposes. The unnecessary illegal interference with setts can cause delays to works and can be expensive to resolve if not properly planned. Early identification of a sett where it might come into conflict with your planned legal operations can therefore save time and ultimately money.

If you have identified a problem with a badger sett then there is a plethora of free advice which can be used to stop you getting into a position where you could be facing a criminal investigation. In the first instance contact your local office:

Natural England
Natural Resources Wales 0300 065 3000
Scottish Natural Heritage 01463 725364
Department of the Environment Northern Ireland 02890 569551

Many areas also have local badger groups and you can find their contact details at Badger Trust or Scottish Badgers

All above text was kindly supplied by the Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group

 

The Persecution of Badgers: A Guide for Investigators in England & Wales

The Badger Trust and Naturewatch Foundation have now produced a publication: ‘The Persecution of Badgers: A Guide for Investigators in England and Wales.’
https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/badger-crime-guide The guide aims to outline the legislation currently in place to protect badgers in England and Wales, and to provide guidance to police forces regarding best practice in the investigation of crimes against badgers and the enforcement of the law. The guide was launched at the 31st UK Wildlife Crime Enforcers Conference in November 2019 by Badger Trust Wildlife Crime Officer, Craig Fellowes, and Naturewatch Foundation Animal Crime Manager, Andrew Swinburne.

 

The Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group

The Badger Persecution PDG has a range of members and meets quarterly to tackle badger persecution across the UK. In 2019, Insp Kevin Kelly (North Yorkshire Police) was appointed as the new chair. The first newsletter was soon produced and can be found here:

  • Badger Persecution PDG Newsletter ~ Issue 1 – Oct 2019
  • Badger Persecution PDG Newsletter ~ Issue 2 – Jan 2020
  • Badger Persecution PDG Newsletter ~ Issue 3 – Oct 2020

 

Operation Badger (formerly Operation MELES)

Operation Badger is an intelligence-led UK-wide police operation gathering evidence of badger persecution and identifying and targeting offenders with a view to prosecution.  It is supported by Badger Trust, Scottish Badgers, NWCU, local badger groups and police wildlife crime units.

Operation Badger relies on members of the public to play a pivotal role and report incidents where it is suspected that there has been a breach of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

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Training

The Badger Trust offer several training courses across England & Wales

INTRODUCTION TO BADGERS AND WILDLIFE CRIME
One day introduction course open to anyone with an interest in badgers.

POLICE BADGER PERSECUTION TRAINING
The Badger Trust provides training to police forces across England and Wales.

Click here for list of current courses.

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Scottish Badgers offers free training to police officers in Scotland:

info@scottishbadgers.org.uk

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Naturewatch Foundation has a Schools Awareness Programme for 13-16 year olds available for Badger Groups/ Police or Teachers to deliver. It concerns badger crime, ecology and legislation.  Click here for more information.

 

  • Badger Persecution media

    • PAW Northern Ireland launches Badger Persecution Report...
      December 20, 2020
    • Police Scotland launch second phase of year-long wildlife...
      December 16, 2020
    • Caerphilly man found guilty for offences against red kites...
      December 13, 2020
    • Badger Trust launches 'stop badger crime' video starring...
      December 8, 2020
    • Motherwell man sentenced for badger baiting
      November 26, 2020
    • Badger baiting: North Wales Farm worker Damien Sweeney...
      November 18, 2020
    • Three Kent men jailed for hunting and killing badgers,...
      September 28, 2020
    • Fife man pleads guilty to animal fighting following...
      August 28, 2020
    • Cumbrian Badger killers caught after man investigated...
      August 21, 2020
    • Welsh man handed suspended jail term after interfering...
      January 14, 2020
    • Four Hartlepool men sentenced for interfering with...
      July 30, 2019
    • Gamekeeper convicted of animal cruelty has been allowed...
      June 12, 2019
    • North Yorkshire Police officer takes on national badger...
      May 24, 2019
    • North Yorkshire Gamekeeper found guilty for failing...
      February 27, 2019
    • Five men jailed over badger baiting in Humberside
      January 23, 2019
    • NWCU supports National Badger Day
      October 6, 2018
    • Badger caught in trap 'illegally' set by hunt master
      July 20, 2018
    • Man fined for disturbing badger sett in North Yorkshire
      July 17, 2018
    • Badger lessons in Scotland aim to tackle persecution
      July 17, 2018
    • Two men jailed for badger-baiting in Wales
      February 5, 2018
    • Northern Ireland Badger Report Published
      December 11, 2017
    • Man who admitted animal cruelty jailed for three months
      February 23, 2017
    • Operation Badger Twitter Week Commencing 07/11/2016
      November 7, 2016
    • Three badger baiters jailed in Derbyshire after blood...
      April 5, 2016
    • 'Barbaric' badger killer Paul Tomlinson jailed ~ Nottingham
      February 12, 2016
    • Middlesbrough badger baiter convicted after sick images...
      November 12, 2015
    • Aberdeenshire gamekeeper convicted of snaring a badger
      November 2, 2015
    • Operation BADGER launches across UK
      October 26, 2015
    • Phone photo led to dog and badger case convictions...
      September 14, 2015
    • Devon men charged with training dogs to fight and kill...
      September 14, 2015
    • Dog owner who forced his pets into horrific underground...
      May 11, 2015



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