A whole range of offences are illegal under the Badgers Act 1992 but sadly it is estimated that 10,000 of the animals are nevertheless killed each year, often suffering terrible cruelty.

It is an offence to:

• Willfully kill, injure, take or attempt to kill, injure or take a badger
• Possess a dead badger or any part of a badger
• Cruelly ill-treat a badger
• Use badger tongs in the course of killing, taking or attempting to kill a badger
• Dig for a badger
• Sell or offer for sale or control any live badger
• Mark, tag or ring a badger
• Interfere with a badger sett by damaging a sett or any part thereof, destroying a sett, obstructing access to a sett, causing a dog to enter a sett or disturbing a badger while occupying a sett.

Common methods of catching badgers include: using terrier dogs or using rocks or similar to block openings to a badger sett to force the badger out of one particular entrance or pegging netting over the openings to the sett. Once caught the badger is then pitted against dogs often causing horrific injuries to both animals.

For more information visit The National Federation of Badger Groups.

If you find evidence of a badger sett having been tampered with, please report it to Norfolk Constabulary on 101 and ask to speak to a Wildlife Crime Officer in your area.