Increase in Badger Crime
According to these statistics, reports of badger sett interference have more than doubled in the past five years, while the number of calls reporting badger digging or baiting leapt from 56 in 2008 to 89 last year.
The RSPCA received 166 reports of badger sett interference from members of the public in 2009, compared to 74 in 2004. This rise indicates badger crime is still rife in the English and Welsh countryside, despite badger digging being banned in 1973 and badger baiting – where dogs are pitted against a badger – being banned as long ago as 1835.