Nature charity vows to change perceptions of much-maligned badgers blamed for farm animal deaths

Britain’s most significant remaining predator is currently one of the most maligned. Intent on sorting our wild creatures into “good” or “bad”, we blame the badger for just about every evil known to man.

Most conflicts with wildlife, however, are paradoxically caused by our actions. Recent claims that badgers kill sheep and lambs, and should be culled, are misguided.

Given the swiftly mounting numbers of catastrophic dog attacks on farm livestock in the British countryside causing untold suffering – to say nothing of the financial devastation every year – the loss of a few lambs to wildlife is hardly comparable. Despite this, you will hear more vitriol about badgers and foxes than dogs.

Over the past 18 months, I have relished studying badgers and I believe we need to see them for what they are – fabulous large mustelids that live in social groups and are an integral, vital link in the complex web of life.

Badgers’ setts have fascinated me since childhood. It’s hard to imagine there is a maze of tunnels and chambers below our feet, where badgers sleep peacefully.

The discovery of a new sett is always exciting but I am careful to keep locations secret for badger baiting remains a serious threat, despite being illegal. Elaine Rainey is project officer for the Scottish Badgers charity, and I went with her to check setts in the Pentland Hills close to Edinburgh.

An environmental educator with a background in countryside management, Elaine has spent much of her career bringing the delights of nature to people of all ages. Between 2006 and 2009 she co-ordinated the first Scottish Badger Distribution Survey – involving training more than 600 volunteers at 1,000 sites around Scotland.

With Elaine, I examine freshly dug areas indicating a badger sett, and heaps of bracken bedding discarded by its occupants.

“I don’t think it helps that badgers are secretive and crepuscular – people don’t have the opportunity to see them,” she says. “What we don’t understand often makes us suspicious. As badgers are carnivores, it also makes them an easy unfounded target.

“We address this by opening people’s eyes to the badger’s fascinating ways, its complex social life and entertaining behaviour. Badger watches are great, but a less intrusive option is to use trail cameras.

“We’ve been working with volunteers of all ages using cameras to monitor setts. It’s helped them become invested in the sett’s story and motivated them to protect the occupants.

“Two parallel attitudes are emerging – one that demonizes our natural predators and blames them for problems. The other – called rewilding or ecological restoration – is the push for healthy, functioning ecosystems where everything slots together seamlessly.

“At Scottish Badgers, we’re trying hard to raise awareness of the place of badgers within our ecosystems. We don’t rely on anecdotes or opinions to inform our stance – our approach is always science-led.

“We’re working with the University of Glasgow on a PhD looking at the roles badgers play within ecosystems, and how those roles might be compromised by threats such as loss of habitat connectivity due to development.

“Exciting things are happening in Scotland in the field of ecological restoration. There’s still issues and conflict, but I believe the public want a nature-rich Scotland and are willing to push for it.”

Scottish Badgers has teamed up with the Scottish Wildlife Trust to run a National Lottery-funded initiative called Earn Your Stripes. This new venture embraces neurodiversity to champion biodiversity – with Elaine, and Lyndsay Mark of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, responsible for delivering the programme.

During lockdown, Elaine and Lyndsay achieved a high level of engagement with online resources, events and meetings.

Through strategic engagement with partners, including ENABLE Scotland and the National Autistic Society, Earn Your Stripes aims to harness the strengths of young people with neurological or physical disabilities. Using an award-based skills development programme, participants take on various tasks to gain skills and build confidence.

After completing the supported challenges over four to six weeks – including wildlife surveying and planning an environmental campaign – participants earn a certificate detailing transferable skills and highlighting strengths.

All sessions are supported by online resources and cater for different learning abilities, making Earn Your Stripes totally inclusive. “Our approach is very much person-centred,” Elaine says, “and our referral partners are noticing numerous positive outcomes, including improvements in confidence, motivation and social skills.

“We encourage young people to step out of their comfort zone, undertaking challenges they feel they are not good at or have never had the opportunity to try.

“Change is what it’s all about for us – taking a young person from, as we call it, ‘not aware and don’t care’ to ‘agency and action’.

“There’s no point raising awareness if we don’t follow up with achievable solutions. Otherwise, we simply contribute to eco-anxiety. We need to remind young people they are not alone, that many people all over the world care. We call it atomic actions – lots of people taking lots of actions adds up to big change.”

After checking two active setts and studying the minutiae of tiny shimmering emerald dock beetles, and banks of wildflowers that thrum with pollinators, we sit quietly by the reservoir, watching fishermen casting.

Balletic azure damselflies flit over the water, and mallard paddle close. Walkers and cyclists are enjoying the network of tracks and paths. Nature holds the key to all we do.

“Attitudes towards badgers are changing,” Elaine says. “Our long waiting list and overwhelmingly positive feedback suggest we need more of this approach. Award-based programmes are great for young people as something to add to their CV.

“Unfortunately, there’s just two of us running Earn Your Stripes, and it’s only in a few council areas. We’d love to see this rolled out across Scotland, linking up with Ranger Services and other environmental professionals – a big joint effort for young people and our environment.

“Young people are our future. We need to support them so they are well-equipped to tackle the environmental problems we’ve left them with.”

Elaine is an admirable advocate, both for badgers and for the natural world – bringing positivity and action to Scottish conservation in a uniquely balanced way.

Back home, I wander out in the gloaming. A badger I now know well sticks her humbug marked head over the drystone wall and sniffs the air. The more I learn of badgers’ ways, the more I hope we can dispel the undeserved misconceptions surrounding them.

It’s time to live harmoniously alongside all our wildlife, lest we forget that we are part of nature and not separate.

Read more from Polly at pollypullar.com