Badgers are the recipients of strong legal protections under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992). It is an offence to; kill, injure, or take a badger, damage, disturb or interfere with their setts, or disturb a badger while in a sett and/or preventing badgers from entering or leaving a sett.
In short, badgers should be left alone and undisturbed. However, there are situations where disturbing badgers and their setts (their underground dwellings) is necessary to complete essential work (maintaining infrastructure is just one example). In these circumstances a licensed and experienced badger worker is needed to develop badger protection plans, implement mitigation, and supervise works around badger setts. At HED Ltd. we are able to offer the experience, knowledge and tools necessary to facilitate such work.
To start we conduct a badger survey of the area, identifying setts and signs of recent activity. Depending on the nature and flexibility of the project a simple 30m buffer of the badger setts (with a robust badger protection plan) may be enough to avoid impact.
If works are to take place within 30m of a badger sett, our team can provide a comprehensive badger protection plan, and advise on necessary mitigation. In some circumstances, badger setts require exclusion, a process in which a badger gate and fencing are used to block access to setts. Badger exclusions are carried out under licence from NatureScot, following best practice. The exclusion process takes a minimum of 17 days, and cannot be performed during the badger breeding season (1st December to 30th June).
If you are in need of our services, or would like ecological advice, contact us at admin@hedltd.com or call 01381 610313.
Comments