Badger Trust-Sussex

The European badger is one of Britain's largest and possibly best loved wild mammals. With its distinctive black and white striped face and shy, gentle nature it certainly holds appeal for most people, yet few will have been lucky enough to have actually seen a live badger in natural surroundings.

 

This is because the badger is a nocturnal animal which is normally cautious and tries to avoid mankind. 

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It is helped by its powerful sense of smell which is 800 times greater than ours.  By nature badgers are extremely clean and intelligent animals which live together in setts in well-ordered social groups.

 

These can be an amazing labyrinth of tunnels and chambers often covering a large area.  

 

Badgers are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of foods including earthworms which form 80% of their diet.  Up to 800 can be eaten in one night, being sucked up like spaghetti.  Other foods include beetles, slugs, snails and windfall fruits.  

 

They do no real harm to anybody, but not all landowners welcome them as they believe that badgers pass Bovine Tb to cattle.

 

During the Government's ill-conceived badger cull which started in 2013 it is estimated that in excess of 250,000 badgers (as at March 2026) were killed by cage trapping and shooting despite the scientific data on which the cull is based having been continuously disproved and challenged by independent scientists.

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The Government have now announced that the cull will end after the last current cull licence expires in 2026 but there are still those who want the cull to continue so we will have to stay vigilant!  

 

Badgers have been present in Britain for thousands of years - their bones have been found alongside those of cave bear and elk.

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They have managed to survive despite the species facing many pressures nowadays such as habitat destruction, illegal persecution and roads (50,000 a year die on our roads while another 10,000 are estimated to be slaughtered by badger baiters.)  

 

These are very dangerous individuals - if you see men carrying spades and sacks do not approach them. Try to remember details such as car registration, appearance and ring the Police immediately.