Badger Surveys Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, badgers and their setts are protected by law. A badger sett is defined by law as ‘any structure or place which displays signs indicating current use by a badger’. Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 it is an offence to:

• Take, injure, or kill a badger (or attempt to do so)
• Cruelly ill-treat a badger
• Intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to a badger sett
• Intentionally or recklessly disturb a badger when it is occupying a badger sett

If the badgers are not causing any issues or damage to the property, such as burrowing beneath the property foundations, then it is perfectly possible to leave them where they are.

In order to close the sett, a licence has to be sought from Natural England, in which damage or development can be listed as reasons.

Firstly, a badger survey will need to be carried out of the development area and surrounding land where possible.

Badger surveys typically involve our ecologists undertaking an initial walk-over survey of a site, to search for evidence of badgers. Badger setts, latrines, badger hairs caught on wire, well-worn paths typical of badgers and snuffle holes (evidence of feeding) are all noted during these surveys.

At Morph Ecological Consultants, we also use motion triggered trail cameras as part of our badger survey work, and during artificial sett work (when enticing badgers to use their newly constructed setts) and during sett exclusion works. The use of cameras gives definitive evidence that badgers are using a sett, but also give an indication on the level of use. We have found the use of such cameras as part of our badger surveys invaluable over the years.

For projects where large areas of foraging habitat may be lost, or when assessing where to construct a new artificial sett is not straightforward, then badger bait-marking surveys can be undertaken. Bait-marking surveys involve putting out peanuts mixed with edible coloured pellets around sett entrances. The peanuts (and pellets) are ingested by the badgers, and then when the pellets are identified within the badger’s latrines, it is possible to map the extent of the clan’s territory.

Once all of this is complete, a report will be produced detailing the survey methodologies, results and an evaluation of any potential issues which may be associated with the works. The report will also include recommendations for general mitigation measures, licencing requirements and further consultation, as necessary. We will be on hand to guide you through the process.

Once it has been established that there is a badger sett within in the vicinity of the works, and the activity level of the sett has been assessed by an appropriate survey, our ecologists can be on hand to help advise the best way to proceed.

The optimal outcome would involve our ecologists aiding at the design stage to find a way to avoid impacts to the sett. There are often ways to find simple tweaks to working methods, to protect the sett, but also save the client lots of time and money.

If it is not possible to avoid impacting the sett during the works, then a licence needs to be applied for from Natural England in order to proceed with the works. Depending on a number of factors, this can either be relatively straightforward or quite a lengthy process. If required, a sett closure involves installing one-way gates over the sett entrances, and surrounding the area with steel mesh to prevent badgers digging back into the sett. A period of 21 days monitoring needs to be carried out to ensure the badgers have left via the gates. Once this period is over, our ecologists can supervise the collapsing of the tunnels in order for works to commence. If the works are going to destroy a main sett or a very active outlier sett, an artificial sett may be required to compensate for the loss of habitat.

Each site is completely different and requires very different methods. Our ecologists are happy to talk through any site specific projects to give you an idea of what options are available to you.

Although badgers are strong and powerful animals, they are not considered dangerous to humans. A badger’s main diet consists of worms, but they are fairly opportunistic so may eat amphibians, rodents, fruit or seeds if there is availability. Most badgers are scared of humans, so will escape to their sett if disturbed. It is possible that a badger could potentially cause injury in defence, if cornered and provoked, although this is an unlikely situation as badgers have no natural predators in the UK.

It is considered extremely unlikely that humans can catch any disease from badgers, although it is possible as with any other mammal. Good practices involve avoiding going near badger setts and badger latrines, and washing hands and boots after walking around a badger territory.

The general rule of thumb is a 30 metre exclusion zone should be placed around badger setts with excavation works and heavy machinery kept well away. Only light machinery should be used within 20 metres and only hand tools can be used within 10 metres of a sett. However, if extensive changes are being made to the area, such as vegetation clearance, this may disturb the badgers and a licence would be required for sett disturbance. If the works cannot avoid disturbing a sett or requires the sett to be closed (whether that be permanently or temporarily) a licence will be required from Natural England. It is always good practice to consult an ecologist when working on any project where there is the potential for badgers, to ensure you are staying compliant with the law.

Firstly, a period of up to three weeks monitoring is undertaken to determine whether the badger sett is active or not, and if so what the activity levels are and an estimate of the number of badgers using the sett.

In order to close a badger sett, a licence needs to be granted from Natural England. Typically, Natural England require 30 working days following submission of the application forms to determine a licence request. However, our team includes an ecologist with a Badger Class Licence, which reduces the time taken to determine an application to just 5 working days (given that the type of works are eligible to use the Class Licence system).

As badgers have their cubs over winter months, badger setts can only be closed between the period of 1st July and 30th November.

In some cases, an artificial badger sett needs to be constructed to compensate for the loss of the sett being closed. In these cases, the artificial sett needs to be constructed in advance and it needs to be confirmed that badgers have found the artificial sett prior to the application for the sett closure. To encourage the badgers to use the artificial sett, a period of enticing is usually carried out, where peanuts are placed in and around the artificial sett.

Once the licence has been granted from Natural England (and if an artificial sett is required, badgers have found the new sett), the sett closure can commence. Depending on the size of the sett to be closed, the works can take around a week to complete. Gates have to be installed on all the sett entrances and the area needs to be meshed over with galvanised chain link mesh.

Once the works to install the gates and mesh have been completed, a period of 21 days monitoring commences, where checks need to be carried out every 3 days. This monitoring period is to allow time for badgers to leave the sett, as badgers can occasionally stay below ground for a period of time when disturbance has occurred. If badgers manage to breach the mesh and re-enter the tunnels, the 21 days monitoring restarts (once the mesh is repaired). Once 21 days monitoring has finished, the gates will be locked shut and sett will be declared closed. We usually remove the gates, back-fill the entrances, and then securely mesh over the area, to avoid the potential for gates to be tampered with.

We recommend works are carried out soon after this period, as the longer the time left, the greater chance badgers will manage to breach the mesh and re-enter the tunnels.

An initial badger survey and monitoring period usually costs in the region of £500, this will help inform whether your proposals may impact a sett.

Badger sett closures can become very costly due to the number of site visits required and the cost of materials (i.e. the mesh to cover the area of the sett). The cost of sett closures can vary greatly depending on the level of impact on the sett, the size and type of the sett, and if an artificial badger sett is required to compensate for the loss of the natural sett.

Sett closures usually range in cost from around £3,000 to over £10,000. An accurate quote can only be provided once the initial badger survey and monitoring have been carried out.

If you would like a quotation for your site, please email info@morph-ecological.co.uk. We endeavour to provide accurate upfront costs were possible to ensure there are no hidden surprises.

It can be quite a lengthy process, and the length of time it takes is determined by a number of different factors. We recommend approaching an ecologist early, to ensure it does not cause your project any significant delays.

Activity	Timings / Details
Badger survey	Can be carried out all year round
Badger sett monitoring	Can be carried out all year round, usually for up to 3 weeks
Artificial badger sett construction (if required)	Ideally carried out well in advance of the proposed sett closure, as badgers need to have found the artificial sett prior to sett closure works commencing
Badger sett closure timing constraints	Can only be carried out under licence between 1st July and 30th November
Natural England to determine Licence Application	30 working days for a full application or 5 working days under a Class Licence
Installing one-way gates and mesh	Usually up to a week (depending on sett size)
Monitoring period during the sett closure	21 days of monitoring with checks every 3 days, if badgers breach the mesh, the 21 days monitoring will restart
Works can commence	Works can commence when the sett is declared free of badgers, it is recommended works are carried out soon after

As such the it can take anywhere from 2 months to over 6 months from the initial survey until the sett is closed. For example, if a sett was identified in late November, it might mean that the earliest sett closure works could be completed would be late July.

Regardless of whether you live in a badger cull zone or not, badgers and their setts are still protected by the law. Organisations carrying out the badger cull have a specific licence in order to carry out the cull. As far as we are aware there are no differences to the protocol for sett closures if required within a cull zone and a licence will still need to be sought.