Badger Trust Talk: Beautiful Badgers

Published: 24 October 2009

Wildlife Day: Badgers very popular

Dave Williams, Mammal Officer at the Surrey Wildlife Trust and Chairman of the Badger Trust UK gave this talk on badgers at the Isle of Wight Wildlife Day at the Freshwater Memorial Hall, Isle of Wight on 24 October 2009:

"Many people get hours of enjoyment by feeding badgers in their gardens. There are some who make up their recipes and will watch their antics for hours. But care should always be taken, do not feed them too much.

Badgers should not repy on being fed artificaly. If something should happen to the house owner then the badgers will not know where to find their natural food, which is much healthier for them anyway. However a bit of a helping hand can help wild animals through times of drought or frosty weather.

This can be applied to all wildlife inlcuding feeding birds. I know a gentleman who feeds badgers regularly, and he is so careful not to overfeed. He is also concerned if he goes away and has managed to construct a feeder system on a timer, that puts out a given amount of suitable food when he is not at home.

When he is at home he sits in his lounge and waits for the badgers to arrive. He knows when they come as he has fixed up an electronic device with a sensor, set at badger height, so the warning bleep goes off in his house and he knows the badgers will be waiting.

As you can see, badgers can get very used to some humans. They are usually very timid, but where they are fed regularly and feel secure one can get very close to them.

It is not so easy to watch badgers in the wild, they will be more aware if anyone is around and their strong sense of smell will soon catch your scent if you are upwind of them.

Occasionally lactacting sows will get killed and leave orphaned badgers starving and in danger of dying. If they can be found then orphaned cubs can be hand reared, but you need to be a specialist and have the correct type of food for them, and have the time needed to bring them up.

Orphaned cubs are collected together and usually released when they are nearly mature, together, back in the wild in specially selected locations.

Badgers can suffer badly from persecution. One of the worsts problems is the snare.

Snares are legal; anyone can use them with no proper training. The results are horrific. There is also the danger of the wrong species getting caught such as protected species: otters and badgers or dogs, cats and even small children. Badger Trust and League Against Cruel Sports would like to see snares banned."

A variety of wildlife issues were discussed at the IOW event. Among those attending was Graham Street IOW bat hospital, the local RSPCA, Alma and John Butcher with their rescued ferrets and Mark Earp discussed conservation. The League Against Cruel Sports give an update on their campaigns.