01494 715438 | 07979 247797 bbgc@bucks-badgers.org.uk

Welcome to the Buckinghamshire Badger Group

Join us

We are now looking for new members to join our small and friendly group.

You can join the group either as an active member where you can take part in a number of activities or as a supporting member. An active member could serve on the committee, where there are several vacant positions such as publicity or updating and maintaining our website or you could take part in sett surveying, look after a specific sett or setts or help recording rtas or badger sightings.

Membership is still set at £5.00 per annum, whether you are an individual, a couple or a family. You can join by pressing Contact us at the top of the page and then Join us. Payment can be made by bank transfer, standing order or by cheque. All details are on the Join Us page.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to find out more.

We would love to hear from you.

Continuing Threats to Badgers

The Badger Cull has finally ended here in Buckinghamshire after four long and cruel years. The hope is that the cull has now finished for good throughout the country.

HS2 has mainly completed the stage where the land has been cleared and the badger setts that were in the way have been closed.

However, we must not be complacent as there are still serious threats to the  badgers in the county.According to the government, the target is to build 95,000 houses in Bucks.That in itself would be bad enough, but the Planning and Infrastructure Bill brought in at the end of 2025 has made it easier for companies to get planning permission, even on green belt land.

THIS IS WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

If you hear of planning permission being sought for land where you know or suspect their are badger setts or  signs of badgers please contact us. There is a legal requirement for an ecological survey to be carried out as part of the planning process but it can happen that the signs are missed!!

However, developers can clear the land before applying for planning permission. Site clearance to facilitate a development may be a criminal offence if it is identified that protected species habitat has been destroyed, but in some cases, the land is cleared before anyone is aware and the habitats  destroyed with no proof that there had been a badger sett etc.

This is where we need local eyes and ears to watch for signs of a field, woodland etc being targeted for possible development ie for sale signs,surveying instruments including theodylites, boundary stakes and removal of mature vegetation.

If you see any of these or other signs and you know of a badger sett on or very near the site, please contact us by email or phone on the numbers above. Also, please let us know of the exact location of the sett and/or any badger sightings and, if possible, take photographs- so valuable. It is not good enough to say that there was a sett and it has been destroyed if you do not have evidence that the sett did exist. We have been caught a few times like this and we now take photos of setts we find.

What we do

• We have experienced members who survey and monitor badger setts in the county which can be invaluable in helping to protect badgers and monitor numbers.
• We offer help and advice to local planning authorities, the public and other bodies such as HS2 on a wide range of issues.
• We liaise with the police and the RSPCA on illegal activities which regrettably happen all too frequently in the county, such as illegal snaring and digging out setts. We actively campaign against the use of any type of snare.
• We use our knowledge to educate both adults and children on the threats that badgers face and how you can help. We also have display boards which can be used in talks.
• Our experienced volunteers are equipped with rescue equipment and frequently go out to rescue wounded badgers. Most of our wounded badgers are taken to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Rescue Centre in Haddenham where they are given the best possible treatment by wonderful and caring staff.
• We also campaign on local and national issues that affect badgers.
• We are an affiliated member of the Badger Trust, which is the UK’s only national charity solely devoted to the protection of the badger.