Badger Surveys

Background

Badgers and their setts are among the most strictly protected wildlife features in England. Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 it is an offence to damage, destroy or obstruct a sett, or to disturb a badger while it is occupying one. Because setts are often concealed in hedgerows, woodland edges, scrub and embankments, they are easy to overlook until works are already under way.

A badger survey is a detailed assessment of sett locations, size and activity. Our ecologists examine the habitat for the field signs that reveal a badger population, including:

• Sett entrances and spoil heaps
• Well-worn foraging paths and runs
• Latrines and dung pits
• Snagged hair, snuffle holes and other signs of foraging

From these signs we determine whether a sett is active, disused or part of a wider territory, and we map it accurately so its influence on your site is properly understood.

Our approach

Crown & Burrow is a Natural England-licensed badger ecology firm based in Guildford, Surrey. Our work begins with a thorough field survey, walking the site and a sensible buffer around it to record every sett and the evidence of how badgers are using the land.

We then set the findings in their legal and ecological context. That means explaining clearly what the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 requires of you, what your options are, and where a Natural England licence would be needed before any work could affect a sett. Our reporting is written to support planning applications and ecological impact assessments, so it stands up to scrutiny from local authorities and their ecology advisors.

Throughout, our priority is a humane, lawful outcome. We never harm badgers, and we look first for solutions that allow development and a healthy badger population to coexist.

The Problem

Most badger-related problems on a site come down to one thing: a sett that was not identified in time.

• An unrecorded sett can be disturbed or destroyed during clearance or groundworks, which is a criminal offence and can halt a project.
• Working too close to an active sett, even without touching it, can amount to unlawful disturbance.
• Without a survey, planners cannot grant consent confident that protected species have been addressed, leading to refusals or conditions.
• Discovering badgers late forces emergency changes to programme and design, with knock-on cost and delay.

The closed season adds a further constraint: licensed exclusion work generally cannot take place during the spring breeding period, so a sett found at the wrong moment can hold up a site for months.

Our Solutions

We offer a complete badger service that takes you from first survey to a fully resolved site:

• Badger surveys to confirm sett status, size and activity
• Impact assessments and mitigation plans to support planning applications
• Natural England licence applications where a sett must be affected
• Licensed sett closures using one-way gates and stainless-steel mesh over a minimum 21-day exclusion period, outside the closed season
• Construction of artificial or alternative setts where badgers need to be rehomed
• Badger exclusion fencing to keep animals clear of works
• Habitat restoration, plus ongoing monitoring and maintenance
• Disease management advice, including in the context of bovine TB

Because sites rarely involve only one species, we also carry out bat surveys, with bats protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Habitats Regulations, so a single ecology partner can keep your whole project compliant.

Whether you are at the feasibility stage or facing an unexpected sett mid-build, the sooner we survey, the more options you have. Call us on 01483 387478 or email badgers@crownandburrow.co.uk to book a badger survey and keep your project moving, lawfully and humanely.