They said: "The
sett was huge and was still in use, despite concerted efforts to damage it by purposely driving over it, and spraying it with what appears to be weedkiller.
He said the
sett was in an extremely rural location and it would have required extensive knowledge of badgers and their habits to find them.
Offenders use bull lurchers, a cross between the lurcher and the illegal pit bull, for dragging badgers out of their
setts with their strong jaws, or lamping - taking large game above ground including deer and foxes, using whistles and torches.
Four groups of variables were established: 1) conditions suitable for
sett digging, 2) food supply (i.e.
The USRT, with the permission of English Heritage and the RSPCA, disturbed the
sett to bring Boh, with the rabbit still in his mouth, to the surface.
I told them I knew what they had been doing and had been at the badger
sett and I was afraid I would get the blame.
The Warwick researchers said they used molecular methods to examine the prevalence of Mycobacte-rium bovis, which causes TB, in soil collected from badger
setts and in badger faeces on cattle farms in six endemic regions of the UK.
CLOSE: Horus under Jamie Moore, left, and the Ruby Walsh ridden Cornish
Sett on their way to a dead-heat at Newbury' DECENT RACE: Martin Pipe
A spokeswoman for SNH said yesterday: "Our guys think it is a satellite
sett, sometimes called subsidiary
sett.
They admitted to digging for badgers, interfering with a badger
sett and causing unnecessary suffering to a Jagd Terrier, named Brock, which they used to send down the badger
sett.
I looked on as Bert and Jason checked active
setts for signs of human disturbance, surveyed a possible site for the construction of an artificial
sett, helped build a
sett in a secluded area and, best of all, at dusk I had the enormous pleasure of watching young badgers at play.
A court heard the incident happened at Trelawnyd near Holywell in April when there would be young badgers in the
sett.
Four men from Hartlepool were caught sending a neglected terrier dog inside a badger
sett in an idyllic North Yorkshire village near Malton.
Badgers and their
setts are fully protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and anyone who takes, kills or injures a badger or who interferes with its
sett can be sent to prison or fined.
It has regular, well used paths leading from the
sett which may be followed for some distance, often to a watering hole.
