Established in 2014, RammSanderson provides a comprehensive badger survey service in accordance with the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
In England and Wales, it is illegal to kill, injure, or take a badger and/or to damage, destroy, or obstruct access to a sett. It is also illegal to disturb a badger whilst it is in occupation of its sett.
Similarly, this protection is also provided in Scotland under the Wildlife and Natural Environment ACT 2011 and in Northern Ireland under the Wildlife Order 1985.
A badger survey is necessary for planning and development applications to comply with legislation and to aid in any required mitigation and licence application requirements.
Badger Survey Experts
At RammSanderson, our badger survey techniques include:
- Site assessments for presence/absence of setts
- Remote monitoring using infra-red trail cameras
- Bait marking and territory mapping
- Licenced sett closures
- Construction of artificial badger setts
Surveys are ideally undertaken between early spring and late autumn when badgers are most active and mark their territories using ‘latrines’. Evidence of badgers is also more conspicuous during this time as vegetation cover is lower.
However, our expert team, including Low Impact Class Registered consultants can undertake a badger survey throughout the year to establish if setts are present on site.
Comprehensive Mitigation Design
Our ecologists have vast experience in badger survey services and mitigation design. This can be achieved either through retention and careful landscape planning or through closure of setts to facilitate works.
We have successfully obtained licences for temporary and permanent sett closures as well as
- Designing and creating new artificial setts within a development area,
- Retention or reduction of existing setts
- Maintenance of foraging areas and movement corridors
Licences and Sett Closures
Following a comprehensive badger survey a sett closure can only be undertaken between the period of July and November under licence. This requires the installation of one-way badger gates to humanely exclude badgers from an area.
The extent of the proposals and their likely impacts on badgers will depend on the setts’ status, i.e. Main, Annex, Subsidiary, or Outlier sett, and whether it is in current use.
Closures require continued monitoring of exclusion measures for up to 28 days (in total) completed by an ecologist. Once clear, a sett can be carefully removed under the supervision of an Ecological Clerk of Works.
For short-term disturbance works near to a sett, we have also successfully obtained licences for the temporary closure of setts. This involves humane exclusion until all works are completed at which point badgers are allowed to re-enter the sett with exclusion measures removed.
Where a badger survey has identified a need for a main sett being closed it would typically be expected for a developer to create a new artificial sett elsewhere within the clan’s territory as compensation.
Our ecologists have also been instrumental in the design and creation of new setts and continued monitoring of setts to establish the success of our compensation measures.
Why Choose RammSanderson for A Comprehensive Badger Survey?
At RammSanderson, we specialise in providing a comprehensive badger survey service under the Protection of Badgers ACT 1992. Our ecologists conduct site assessments, remote monitoring using infrared trail cameras, and bait marking along with territory mapping, to establish a thorough and efficient report.
Our team can advise on the necessary licences required for sett closures and our director Nick Sanderson holds a registered status meaning licences under certain circumstances can be obtained in 10 working days. Our team can facilitate a project from conception to completion, undertaking the baseline surveys, mitigation design and licence application, installation and monitoring of sett closure and installation of artificial setts.
At RammSanderson, our badger survey and mitigation strategies are guided by best practices, legislation, and regulations, meeting the competencies as set out by the Charted Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) of which we are accredited members.
RammSanderson has a team of experienced consultants ready to carry out Badger Surveys and Mitigation. Get in touch today!