Badger setts, as well as Badgers themselves are protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. This defines a Badger sett as “any structure or place which displays signs indicating current use by a Badger”. New guidance, issued by Natural England at the end of June 2009 provides some help as to what constitutes ‘current use’.
The guidance emphasises that current use is not the same as current occupation, which means that a sett does not have to have a Badger in it to be covered by the Act. However, a sett does need to have some field signs at it to be classed as in current use. Once all Badger field signs have disappeared from the sett, it ceases to be currently used, and is therefore not protected by the Act.
The length of time that Badger field signs, such as bedding, footprints, foraging signs or droppings, remain around the sett once Badgers have stopped using it, will be very variable. Temperature, precipitation, soil type, local topography and other external factors will therefore affect the length of time that an unoccupied sett is protected.
A cautious approach to assessing current use is required to determine whether a sett is protected by the Act, as well as a very accurate assessment and evaluation of Badger field signs.
The Act also makes it an offence to disturb a Badger whilst it is occupying a sett. Firstly, a Badger needs to be in a sett for an offence of distu...
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