Legislation and badgers

Badgers and their setts are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended, and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

This makes it an offence to:

• take, injure, sell, possess, kill or ill-treat a badger
• damage, destroy, disturb of allow a dog to enter a badger sett

The Act defines a sett as “any structure or place which displays signs indicating current use by a badger”. Natural England takes this to mean seasonally used setts and consequently any sett which has been occupied during the previous twelve months. Penalties for causing disturbance, death or injury include fines of up to £5,000 and/or up to six months in prison per offence. Disturbance could include any digging activity or scrub clearance within 30 metres of the sett and therefore every case needs to be assessed individually by us. Operations such as pile driving have to be discussed with Natural England.

Licences are issued by Natural England to allow for the disturbance of badgers, and even the destruction of their setts in certain circumstances, in relation to development. Note that the applicant must be in possession of a certificate for full planning permission before a licence application will be considered. Licences are also issued for the felling of trees close to a badger sett. Natural England licences are only available between 1 July and 30 November. After that date, the so-called closed season begins, when badgers are breeding, and no disturbance is allowed except in genuine emergencies such as badgers digging under roads or railways. It is understood that this restriction may be relaxed in some cases where a sett is seasonal and badgers can be shown to be absent at the time of the development.

« back to badgers