Shocking Scale of Badger Persecution by Hunts Revealed

The wide scale persecution of badgers by hunts is revealed in new data seen by the Hunt Saboteurs Association.

Of the 3,405 incidents reported in the National Wildlife Crime Unit’s ‘Badger Related Incident Analysis Summary,’ over half (56.9%) relate to interference with badger setts, with the largest proportion of these incidents, around 270 (or 13.9%), attributed to hunts.

A further 11.3% of sett interference incidents are described as the blocking of setts, a practice routinely carried out by hunt terriermen ahead of a hunting day.

The report comprises police data as well as reports from the RSPCA, Badger Trust and League Against Cruel Sports over a 5 year period from the start of 2020 to the end of 2024.

However, the true scale of crimes targeting badgers is likely much higher, due to under-reporting and the difficulty in obtaining accurate statistics as wildlife crimes are not compiled by the Home Office.

As hunt saboteurs know all too well, most illegal hunting and wildlife persecution takes place well away from prying eyes and behind a veil of secrecy.

The blocking of badger setts, or ‘earth stopping,’ takes place before a hunting day to deny a fleeing fox a place of refuge during a hunt, ensuring a longer chase for hunters. Not only does this guarantee greater suffering to the fox, it risks the suffocation of badgers underground in blocked setts.

Hunt sabs have exposed this practise using hidden cameras so many times in recent years, including numerous incidents showing members of the Wynnstay Hunt blocking badger setts which led to two separate convictions (here and here), and footage which shows a terrierman of the South Shropshire Hunt engaged in ‘earth stopping’ with hounds being hunted over the area the same day.

But it doesn’t end there. If a hunted fox does manage to ‘go to ground’ to seek refuge, terriers are then entered to locate it, with terriermen using spades to dig down to both animals, by using the terrier to flush out the fox which is then caught and killed by the terriermen or released to hounds, as seen in the shocking Avon Vale Hunt footage.

Apart from the obvious damage to the badger setts by digging, the entering of terriers results in underground fights, not only between the terriers and fox, but also badgers, leading to often catastrophic injuries.

This practice was caught on camera in Devon last year, with a more gruesome ending for the fox only prevented by the presence of hunt sabs.

A Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson said:

“Once again we see the devastating impact that hunting has on British wildlife.”

“If hunts are supposedly ‘trail hunting’ as the British Hound Sports Association and Countryside Alliance claim, there is absolutely no reason for them to be engaging in ‘earth stopping’ or ‘digging out.’”

“It’s time for the Government to act to protect the many species of animals targeted by organised hunts, not only by strengthening the law to stop the smokescreen of so-called ‘trail hunting’ but also by immediately ending the cruel practise of terrier work which leads to such suffering, something which Environment Minister Steve Reed can do at any time.”