A Eurasian Badger

Aug. 18, 2003 — Badgers in the United Kingdom, suffering from this summer's heat wave, have resorted to digging up hundreds of private gardens in a desperate search for food, conservationists said Thursday.

Their desperate digging is resulting in an unprecedented number of complaints from the public about badgers in their gardens.

"The cause of the problem is not a rise in badger numbers," said Elaine King, Chief Executive of the United Kingdom's National Federation of Badger Groups, a badger protection and conservation organization.

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"On the contrary," she said, "the dry weather has deprived badgers of earthworms — their staple diet — and they are being forced to dig for their dinner wherever they can find it."

"They are upsetting gardeners in the process," she added.

The National Federation of Badger Groups has gathered a large amount of anecdotal evidence from around Britain, which supports recent scientific data suggesting badgers have suffered a substantial decline.

"The extremely dry conditions in 2002 and 2003 have meant that almost no badger cubs have been raised for the last two years," King explained.

"The most convincing evidence comes from 50 setts in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire. Badgers there only produced 12 cubs in 2003 — the lowest number for 28 years. In 2002, the badgers only managed to produce 15 cubs."

A sett is an extensive system of interlocking tunnels with nest chambers, toilets and several entrances.

The United Kingdom has many local "badger groups" where volunteers watch and record badger numbers and activities. Most of these groups have reported few or no cubs at regularly monitored setts this year. They have also reported large numbers of badgers suffering from dehydration and starvation.

Malcolm Clark, Chairman of the Wiltshire Badger Group, said many members of the public have contacted his group recently after seeing badgers above ground in the daytime and in unusual places.

"Near Market Lavington ... a farmer has seen lots of dehydrated thin badgers on the edge of Salisbury Plain," Clark said. "He took one to a vet who put it to sleep because it was so severely dehydrated."

The National Federation of Badger Groups has produced a new booklet for gardeners explaining why badgers are causing so many problems this year and how to help prevent badgers from starving in the prolonged drought.

"Gardeners can help badgers through this difficult period by changing their gardening strategy," said King. "For example, we are encouraging gardeners who water their lawns to do so last thing at night. As well as conserving water, this also encourages worms to the surface at exactly the time that badgers want to eat them."

"This simple strategy should discourage badgers from digging up lawns and gardeners will have the added bonus of watching badgers forage on their doorstep," she said.

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