Badgers and Their Benefits

Badgers. Nature’s misunderstood bandits. Often described as diseased or as common thieves, these local rascals play a fundamental role in engineering ecosystems and supporting our native wildlife. 

It's common knowledge that the neighbourhood badger may snack on your veggies, dig where they like and induce fear through the threat of bovine TB (tuberculosis). However, these rumours only spread negativity and hate for the humble badger. In this post, we will discuss their importance to ecosystems, supporting not only local wildlife, but also playing a part in our society. 

I would like to take a moment to note that Badgers and their setts (homes and connecting tunnels underground), especially in the UK, are protected under wildlife law. If you would like to read more into the specifics of the protection order, take a look at either the .gov website or the information provided by the badger trust. Similarly, if you have an interest in learning more about badgers, there are groups dotted across the UK who volunteer their time to educate members of the public. Please see the badger trust for more info!

It is also important to remember that badgers are living creatures, who eat, sleep and play, with many similarities to dogs - though that is just my opinion (and if you see some of the wildlife footage you may be inclined to agree with me)!

Meet Peeko - a cheeky badger who is loves the camera!

Badgers are important to both wildlife and people for several reasons, primarily because of their ecological roles, contributions to biodiversity, and the benefits they provide to agriculture and natural habitats. They matter and here’s why:

Biodiversity - Health of the Ecosystem

Badgers by nature, create burrows underground, properly named setts, that when abandoned provide shelter for many other native species, including foxes, rabbits, and sometimes bird species and reptiles. Providing shelter through collapsed or abandoned tunnels generates important resources that enhance local biodiversity, reducing one of the many pressures our native species face in the battle of survival.

Not only do their digging habits benefit wildlife, burrowing naturally aerates the soil, allowing the penetration of water and nutrients deeper into the soil. This in turn improves the environment for plant growth by improving soil quality - a benefit to both biodiversity and gardeners. On a smaller scale, badger snuffling (scratch the soil with their noses in search for food) can also do this.

Badger eating habits continue to support biodiversity through seed dispersal. As omnivores, badgers enjoy a mix of meat with a vegetarian diet of fruits and berries. Consumption of these softer fruits encourages regeneration of vegetation, carrying the seeds away from the parent plant and dispersing them through their droppings. This is especially important in areas that need support diversifying its plant species, such as pine forests and brownfield sites that need reclaiming. 

Pest Control

As previously mentioned, badgers enjoy a tasty mixed diet. Including many garden pests such as beetles, larvae and rodents. Through munching, badgers keep the levels of pests in check, contributing to healthier crops and gardens, benefiting agriculture. It could also be argued that their management of rodents indirectly assists in reducing the spread of disease to local wildlife.

Landscape Management and Nutrient Cycling

Unafraid to dig in most places, badger burrowing activities can influence the local landscape; changing water drainage patterns, reducing erosion, and creating microhabitats for others. The action of turning over the soil, often copied by farmers, brings up nutrients to the soil surface, promoting healthy plant growth by improving soil fertility. All wonderful when you don’t have to do it yourself with a fork!

Other Important Benefits

There are some other points to note regarding badgers that are less directly associated. Badgers as a native species are ingrained into our society and culture. Often holding symbolic significance, badgers are the embodiment of perseverance and determination. Great qualities that are respected in folklore. 

Badgers also hold importance in tourism as part of the ecotourism phenomenon. Badger watching and conservation methods contribute to the tourism economy, with many individuals paying for experiences to see this elusive but once well-treasured nocturnal creature. 

There’s more to the badger than meets the eye. With importance to scientific research into disease, management of ecosystems and pest control, the humble badger is woven into our lives whether we like it or not. Sure, any avid gardener knows you might lose a few ears of corn from time to time, or find that they choose to snuffle around your garden paths, but what harm do they possibly do that warrants their smear campaign? Many of the benefits we see from badgers, we take for granted. With a little hope and the amazing work scientists have done to produce TB vaccines, let's welcome the humble badger and change perspectives this national badger day.

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