Badger Surveys
Why Do You Need a Badger Survey?
If you’re applying for planning permission and badgers or their setts may be affected by your project you will need to carry out a badger survey. Badgers Meles meles are protected through the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, enforced by the licensing authority, Natural England. This means that developments cannot destroy or disturb badger setts. It is an offence to:
Kill or injure a badger (except under licence)
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Ill-treat a badger
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Use certain prohibited firearms
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Damage or destroy a badger sett or obstruct access to it, or disturb a badger in it
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Dig for a badger
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Cause a dog to enter a badger sett
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Tag or mark any badger (except under licence)
When to Carry Out a Survey
Badger surveys can be completed at any time of the year, but surveys are most effective during early spring when sett and territorial activity is high (so signs of habitation are more obvious), and before vegetation has grown to cover field signs.
Pioneer Environment offers site surveys to assess the presence of badgers. Surveys usually involve searching for sett entrances, paths, latrines, hairs (on fences and vegetation), scratching posts and evidence of foraging for food. We also use camera traps to detect presence and activity.
We will be able to advise you quickly as to whether badgers are on-site or not. If there are badgers present, this knowledge will allow you to get a head start on applying for the necessary licence.
If your development can’t avoid disturbing a badger sett, you will be required to make an application to exclude badgers before any work can take place.
Take a look at our survey calendar for more information.
What Will Pioneer Supply?
We will provide a full site report and, if badgers are found, we offer a mitigation strategy to ensure legal compliance. This may involve site design or, if unavoidable, we can apply for a licence for sett closure and mitigation, e.g. building a new artificial badger sett away from the site.
About Badgers
Badgers Meles meles are the largest land predator and largest member of the mustelid family within the UK. Badger territories can range in size from 30 – 150 hectares, depending on the suitability of the habitat, and contain a main sett and several smaller outlying setts. Badgers are widespread, with a population in Great Britain of around 562,000. While badger numbers are steadily recovering due to introduction of legislation in the 1970s, badgers are still threatened by persecution and road traffic accidents. A population survey and study of mortality rates concluded that approximately 50,000 badgers are killed on our roads each year.
For more information on badgers, download our factsheet.