Today is national badger day in the UK!

Badgers might feel like an odd topic for a car leasing company to write about but they are part of a wider topic of road safety and animals.  Although Road Safety Week isn’t until next month, we thought that today was the perfect opportunity for us to take a look at how to drive safely around animals.

But as it’s national badger day, we’re first going to tell you a little more about the UK’s largest and oldest surviving native carnivore.  

Badgers date back as far as three quarters to half a million years ago, according to a study by Yates (1999), meaning they once roamed the country with larger predators like brown bears, arctic foxes and wolverines.

They are recognisable with their distinctive black and white face and grey body, and growing up to 90cm long and 12kg heavy, are larger than you might expect. Badgers are nocturnal animals so it’s rare you’ll see one during the day. They have powerful long claws that help them dig their homes and catch their prey.

The majority of their diet is earthworms, which is why their homes are usually located in areas where there are a lot of them. However, badgers will also eat slugs, insects, grubs and seasonally apples, pears, plums, elderberries, seeds and nuts, acorns, wheat and sweetcorn. Badgers are known to eat a number of smaller mammals including mice, rats, rabbits, frogs and toads. They’re also the main natural predator of hedgehogs in the UK. When there’s a shortage of food badgers will also raid bins, especially in developed areas.

Badgers live in underground burrows called setts, where they live for most of the year with the rest of their clan, usually between four and eight badgers. As well as the main sett there are usually a number of outlying setts dotted throughout each badger territory which are used in warmer months. Badger setts in the UK are typically in broadleaved woodlands, but they can be established anywhere there are a lot of earthworms and there’s well-draining soil, so can be found around cities and towns.

Badgers are important in the British wildlife ecosystem as they are predators for a number of smaller mammals, mentioned above, which helps to keep their populations in check and prevents our countryside from being overrun by rodents.

Why Are They Being Culled and What Are the Restrictions?

Badgers are generally a protected species, with some of the highest legal protections for wildlife in the UK. However, the government allows them to be culled in designated areas by licence holders.

Culling badgers is allowed in these areas as badgers can carry bovine tuberculosis (TB) and transmit the disease to cattle and other livestock on UK farmlands. Livestock that has bovine TB has to  

Earlier this year the government announced the expansion of badger culling to include 11 new areas including;

  • Lincolnshire
  • Wiltshire
  • Warwickshire
  • Somerset
  • Shropshire
  • Oxfordshire
  • Leicestershire
  • Herefordshire
  • Gloucestershire
  • Derbyshire
  • Avon

This is in addition to 33 other areas in the UK where authorisation for culling was renewed.

A number of celebrities have spoken out, over the years, against badger culling including Chris Packham who labelled it “cruel and ineffective”.

The culling licence allows authorised companies and individuals to shoot a set number, or range, of badgers within a defined area. Before the licence is given the Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirm the authorised boundaries and shooters, as well as confirming that the licence holder will have enough funds to carry out the cull safely and humanely, and properly dispose of the carcasses.

The government is hoping to move away from a reliance on culling to a policy that relies more on vaccination, with badgers being vaccinated as well as livestock.

The move away from intensive culling has been made possible by a breakthrough by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), allowing for field trials of a cattle vaccine to be deployed within a few years.

When badgers are culled their bodies must be disposed of correctly, in order to avoid contamination to other animals and humans. Their carcases are classed as category 1 material and so must be carefully collected and disposed of, they also cannot be removed from a vehicle when at a premises with livestock to prevent potential TB spread. 

Road Safety Around Animals:

The UK has a lot of wildlife and there are several road signs that are used across the country to indicate various species.  These include the below signs which are (left to right, top to bottom) wild fowl or ducks, wild animals, cattle, frogs, small mammal, accompanied horses or ponies, wild horses and ponies, and otters.

Other signs you might spot on UK roads include ones for squirrels, sheep and horse-drawn carriages.

Animals are unpredictable and easily spooked which is why you should take extra care when driving near them.

The most common animal you’ll encounter on UK roads is likely to be a horse, as many riders have to travel a short part of their route along the roads.

When you come up to any animals you should slow down and keep your distance until it is safe to pass. It’s also recommended that you turn down the volume or mute your radio until after you have passed them, to avoid the noise spooking them. As you pass you should maintain a wide distance and slow speed until you are safely in front and your acceleration is not going to startle the animal.

A lot of UK wildlife is nocturnal, including badgers, and so when driving at night we advise you don’t drive too fast and use your full beam where possible to help you see animals in the dark as early as possible.

What to Do If You’re Involved in an Accident:

If you are involved in any accident, you should stop as soon as it is safe to. You should check your car to make sure it is still safe to drive and if any other vehicle was involved in an accident you will need to swap insurance details.

Any collision that involves your vehicle and one of the below animals must be reported to the police as soon as possible, within 24 hours.

  • Dog
  • Horse
  • Cattle
  • Pig
  • Goat
  • Sheep
  • Donkeys and mules

Once you have reported the accident to the police your legal duty is done. However, you might also want to call the RSPCA emergency line on 0300 1234 999 for further advice.

If you are involved in an accident with a pet then you do not legally have to notify the owner, but it is generally advised that if they have a tag and you are able to notify the owner then you should do so.

You should observe the animal to see how badly they are injured and be careful if approaching it, as hurt and frightened animals are likely to lash out and scratch or bite.

The RSPCA advises you should not handle or transport the below animals yourself and instead should call them so they can advise on a nearby vet or wildlife rehabilitator who will be able to transport the injured animal.

  • Deer
  • Seal
  • Wild boar
  • Otter
  • Badger
  • Fox
  • Snake
  • Birds of prey (including owls)
  • Swan
  • Goose
  • Heron
  • Gull

You should be able to make a claim if any injury to passengers or damage to the vehicle is caused by an animal, provided it was not caused by the driver attempting to avoid an animal but you should check the terms of your insurance carefully to see what is covered. If the animal involved is a pet or farm animal then you could argue it’s the responsibility of the owner, as it’s up to them to keep the animal secure. However, if you hit a wild animal and make a claim then you will lose your no-claims bonus.

In the UK it is not illegal to pick up roadkill. However, you are generally advised not to pick up an animal you have hit, as you cannot prove you did not intentionally hit it, which is illegal. You should also never pick up a swan as these are property of the crown, even when dead.

If you see a dead animal on the roadside, then you can contact your local council, for non-trunk roads, or the Highways Agency for main A-roads and motorways, and they should be able to help.

Let us know if you have any tips for driving around animals in the comments below.

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