Badgers sharing Bury?

[gollum 1]

Hi folks, I have a conundrum.

Is it possible that rabbits will live alongside of Badgers? When I say alongside of I mean within 20 feet or so!

 

I am pretty convinced that the bury I am talking about has Badgers next door! There are numerous piles of dung around (see pic) and straw bedding outside a couple of BIG holes. But also there are numerous smaller holes with piles of fresh rabbit dung and scrapes. This bury is quite large, 15 - 20 holes and I am sure it holds rabbits in numbers but I am equally sure there are Badgers either in the Bury or so close as to make little difference. I have seen clear Badger tracks in the immediate vicinity and some of the dung is also definitely not rabbit.

 

I am resisting putting my ferrets anywhere near it as I do not know how ferrets and Badgers get on ?

I know they are the same family....but most families I know like a good scrap at christmas, weddings etc and I dont want to find out the hard way that the same applies to my little ferts! My instinct tells me its a bad idea to try here.

 

Can anyone advise me about this?

 

Thanks.

 

G

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

No One on this site is going to like what I'm about to say. Precious few will even believe it. I'll not blame them for disbelieving it; I too found it hard to believe. But here's what was recently stated on a forum frequented by professional Pest Controllers. The bloke posting this information having a Lot of personal experience dealing with badger sets, under the correct Lisencing and direction of DEFRA. Apparrently, this is one of their latest rulings:

 

Doing just about ANYTHING within ..... wait for it. F*ckin Blinder this! ..... Two Hundred and Fifty Yards Of a Badger Sett shall, under law, be construed as " Interfering with " that sett. The Badger Watchers will be watching and your beloved government will have ye guts for garters.

 

Don't bother trying to shoot the messenger. No skin off my nose as I'm not under those idiots f*cking yoke. But that, apparrently, is British Law as it stands just now.

 

So; Go near those rabbit buries and ye head's on the block. This guy was actually advising against so much as setting a Fenn Mk IV in a rabbit bury within the proscribed 250 yards of a sett.

 

 

Yeah. I know; " FFS! "

[billy power 0]

Yes,Gollum,badgers are rabbits can and will live side by side,dont try to ferret the bury because u might shift a fox cub with a ferret but Brock is another thing,he wont take no shit of a ferret and will kill him very quick.

[Guest fell terrier]

What the feck is a badger??

what ever youdo me old mate do not put your ferrets in with old bill as like yer man says the do gooders will be on your back i remember when i was a kid on me uncles farm he once used ferrets to bolt fully grown foxes to the gun so anything is possible

[Guest Eamon.Mc]

big thing somtimes called pigs or queer ones stripey face!!!!??? are you being serious?

Aye totaly!!

[gollum 1]

Thanks Ditch....glad u told me that! I kind of guessed the Badger would make a quick meal of the ferts but as for the law...well thats quite a shocker. And seeing as there was a dog walker in a nearby field I'm doubly relieved I didnt try it out, mind I reckon my little Jill is probably even more relieved

 

I'll give old tommy's lair a wide berth then. Much obliged to ya.

 

Thanks too to everyone else for such swift and informative replies .

 

Good site this

[para1 11]

All ditch said is correct.Just for interest throw I have known RATS,RABBETS,fOXES and BADGERS all to share the same living quarters. I have also found that an experienced ferret wont enter a badger set they don't like to enter a fox earth eather but if they do,be very careful when it eventually comes out your ferret will be a little on the wild side. :icon_eek:

[richie 1]

i came across the same situation.. i was doing a recce on a section that stretches out 75yds that is riddled with rabbit activity, must be 60/70 holes all with rabbit droppings left at every entrance.. i noticed 2 wide/low entrances that were spaced out 25yds or so but didnt look like there was any fresh badger activity.

 

went back a few weeks back & saw freshly dug earth that had been dragged out with straw & bedding that had dragged in, after seeing this i decided not to work this set just incase the rabbit warren linked to the badger set.

 

ditch what you were told, is that gospel ? im going to call defra tomorrow to hear it from the horses mouth, ill let you know their reply.

 

it will be interesting to know about this 250yrd rule !

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Richie; Even we questioned the bloke. Alough, as said above, he's publicly known for having been doing 'Badger Work ' under DEFRA's very eyes. In fact, I can't remember the details off hand so better not say too much here but; I believe I remember DEFRA f*cked up somewhere and bloody near left the guy in Very hot water!

 

But, anyway, yeppers. He reckons they're tinkering with what they deem acceptable on an almost daily basis. And that gem was one of their latest rulings.

 

Bottom line is; Badgers are Bad Luck!

[MikeTheDog 153]

What the feck is a badger??

 

 

...Wonder what they're called round your way?

[richie 1]

i contacted defra today & got put through to there wild life unit. i spoke to a bloke called Arnold Tucker & asked him about the situation if a badger set was close to a warren as discussed above. i said i heard that their is a rule that no ferrets could be worked, traps be laid & so on within 250yrds of a badger set...

 

he said that he has not heard of any such law/rule but said that anyone tampering, ect ect with a badger set would be breaking the law & be liable for prosecution.

 

he gave me a number of a lady who deals with badger legislation & any law that covers anything to do with badgers. her name is DR Catherine Murrey.

 

i gave her a call & explained the story & she also said the same as defra, there is no limit on how close you can work near a set. she advised when clearing warrens near a badger set to obvously use a bit of savvy..

 

she made a few examples of ways that could be deemed tampering with a set:

 

by entering a ferret / ferrets & there been a risk of them straying into the set either by going through the main entrance or by a tunnel that leads onto it .

 

if a tunnel trap "mk6" was set in a place where a badger could reach down & get injured, but only knowing a badger was close by.

 

in my situation, ferreting a section that stretches out 75yds that is riddled with rabbit activity, must be 60/70 holes that are all very close by & a seperate rabbit warren cant be identified & 2 used entrances to badger sets spaced out 25yds.

 

so on & so on..

 

so they way i see it now is if i am about to work a rabbit warren & it is near a badger set but i can definately see that there is no way they could be interlinked then im alright to work it.. but i suspose at the end of the day you cant really be too sure, who knows how far a tunnel has been dug.

 

too many gray areas !

[FUBAR 0]

Thanks for the info Richie

[richie 1]

Thanks for the info Richie

 

 

youre welcome...

 

when in doubt, call the experts. either DEFRA or BASC.

 

 

richie

[Guest bigredbusa]

glad we got that cleared up but whats a badger? lol

[richie 1]

glad we got that cleared up but whats a badger? lol

 

 

i aint got a clue either !