Badger Surveys
Badgers, Meles meles, are widespread throughout Britain and are legally protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 because of animal welfare issues. This means that it is illegal to injure or kill a Badger or interfere with a Badger sett.
A Badger survey undertaken by the Wildlife Survey unit would:
- Collate available desk records from the Local Biological Records Centre and the Local Badger Group
- Identify the location of any setts and their status be it active, partially used, disused
- Identify any evidence of badgers: snuffle holes, footprints, guard hairs and paths
- Define areas of suitable badger foraging
- Define measures needed to ensure legal compliance
The Wildlife Survey Unit also undertakes bait-marking studies to identify territory size, and relationships between setts. This survey involves feeding different clans of Badgers food containing different coloured plastic pellets, by then examining the latrines for plastic pellets evidence can be found linking setts or foraging areas with particular clans. The plastic pellets cause no harm to the Badgers.
The Wildlife Survey Unit are also experienced in the creation of artificial setts as a means of mitigation, the creation of badger road tunnels to prevent road casualities and the exclusion of existing setts.
For more information on Badgers in relation to development please consult Natural England's Interim Guidance Note - Badgers and Development: A guide to best practice and licensing.
