Introduction

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. This was certainly the case at Wolvercote Mill housing development, where a clan of badgers were resolutely ignoring the purpose-built artificial settlement on offer. This was in favour of their old settlement, which was predictably located in the very centre of the proposed site. The design and use of man-made ecological provisions for wildlife has made huge progress over the years and we are increasingly finding new ways to integrate biodiversity into our surroundings. However, their uptake by the target species is never something that can be assured, which is why Ethos were proud to have such a positive result for our client and the badgers on this occasion.

Our role

Ethos were employed by CALA Homes to undertake habitat and protected species surveys commencing in 2016. The surveys recorded a wide range of species on site, including but not limited to badger, bats, otter and breeding birds. The badgers had an established territory and the site contained a main sett with several annexes and sprawling outliers. This site was identified as contaminated land, with the old paper mill having been demolished a few decades earlier that had then become overgrown with vegetation.

Our team successfully applied for a Natural England Licence to humanely exclude the badgers from their sett, with the intent to coax them into the new sett constructed a few years earlier. However, the challenges of implementing this were inflated by the mixed habitat type, land contamination and the sett holes sprawled throughout an established wooded area. To overcome this, the project manager dictated a mixed methodology using one-way badger gates, fencing and baited trails.

Without a doubt, the most valuable and informative type of equipment used on site was the Ethos collection of camera traps. These were distributed across the site over several months to gather video evidence of badger activity. This enabled our team to establish how they responded to the methods of discouragement and monitor their presence.

Results

• Agile problem solving from experienced team
  ∟ Due to the collective experience of our team, we were able to anticipate the likely problems and problem-solve as new obstacles presented themselves.
• Badgers successfully relocated
  ∟ The badgers were successfully excluded from their old setts and quickly set about renovating the artificial sett to their liking
• Evidence of successful move by badger cubs born in spring