My PhD at Nottingham Trent University, in collaboration with RSK Biocensus, is looking to review badger mitigation, with an emphasis on artificial badger setts, with an aspiration of increasing our understanding of how, and why badgers can use these setts post relocation, and if there’s anything that can be improved.
We commonly use artificial badger setts as a mitigation tool to relocate badgers from their generational homes, but there is no substantial research currently on the impact of this mitigation tool. We complete these tasks, and we believe they work, and we have experience of them working. However, we also know that sometimes they fail, or they work for a bit and then stop.
This is a huge knowledge gap in the industry, and is completely subject to the experience levels of the ecologist undertaking the relocation as to how successful this mitigation measure is, to help understand this mitigation tool, firstly we want to identify “what is it we are doing?” and “How is it performing?”.
We are going to be reviewing historic and ongoing badger mitigation efforts, review how well they met their objectives from an ecological perspective – did the badgers like them? But also, how cost effective they were, was it the correct approach to take. Finally trying to determine the impact this may have had on the population as a whole in the local, and wider areas. Finally, taking what we learn, we are hoping to implement this information into practical solutions to common problems, and increase the effectiveness of badger relocation.