Services · Specialist

Badger Surveys

Badgers and their setts are protected by their own dedicated legislation — the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. If your development is within 30 metres of an active sett, survey and licensing are almost always required.

Survey seasonYear-round
OptimalFebruary – April
Buffer zone30 m from sett
LegislationProtection of Badgers Act 1992

Overview

The European badger (Meles meles) is protected under its own dedicated legislation — the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 — which makes it an offence to wilfully kill, injure or take a badger, or to interfere with a sett. Interference includes disturbing badgers in a sett, damaging or destroying a sett, and obstructing access to a sett. Any development within approximately 30 metres of an active sett is likely to constitute interference and will require a licence.

Badger surveys start with a walkover to search for sett entrances, field signs (latrines, paths, hair, footprints, snuffle holes) and feeding activity across the site and its immediate surroundings. Setts are classified as main, annexe, subsidiary or outlier based on the number of entrances, activity levels and connectivity. Where bait marking is required — to determine territory boundaries — this is typically carried out in February to April.

If a sett will be directly affected by the development (destroyed or disturbed), a Natural England licence is required. We prepare and submit the licence application, including the method statement for sett closure (which can only take place outside the breeding season, typically July to November), the provision of artificial setts where appropriate and post-closure monitoring.

When you need this

  • Your development site or access route is within 30 m of a known or suspected badger sett
  • Your PEA identifies badger field signs — paths, latrines, sett entrances, digging
  • Heavy machinery, piling, blasting or vibration-generating works are planned near a sett
  • Road construction or improvement schemes cross known badger territory
  • The LPA conditions your permission on badger survey and mitigation

Our approach

  1. 01
    Sett survey and classification

    A systematic search of the site and a suitable buffer zone (typically 30–50 m beyond the red line boundary) for sett entrances, which are then classified as main, annexe, subsidiary or outlier based on entrance numbers, activity and connectivity.

  2. 02
    Activity monitoring

    Trail cameras, hair traps or sand traps may be deployed at sett entrances to confirm activity levels and establish which setts are in current use.

  3. 03
    Bait marking (where required)

    Coloured bait pellets are placed at sett entrances in February–April. The colours found in latrines around the site reveal territory boundaries and indicate which clan uses which sett — essential information for mitigation design on larger sites.

  4. 04
    Licensing and mitigation

    If sett closure is necessary, we prepare the Natural England licence application, design artificial replacement setts where appropriate, supervise the closure (permitted July–November only) and carry out post-closure monitoring.

Frequently asked questions

01How close to a badger sett can I build?+
There is no fixed legal distance, but Natural England guidance treats works within 30 metres of a sett as likely to cause disturbance. Within this zone, a licence is almost always required. Heavier works (piling, blasting) may require a greater buffer. Your survey will determine the appropriate standoff.
02When can badger setts be closed?+
Sett closure under a Natural England licence can only take place between July and November, outside the period when dependent cubs may be underground (December to June). One-way gates are installed and monitored for at least 21 days to allow badgers to leave before the sett is destroyed.
03Do badger survey results need to be kept confidential?+
Yes. Because badgers are at risk from persecution, sett locations are typically treated as confidential information. They should not be shown on publicly available plans. We advise on appropriate information handling for planning submissions.
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