I had a phone call at 7.15am today from a neighbour who had found an injured badger in the road. The animal had been knocked down by a vehicle on a country lane and had suffered some serious injuries. Our local badger group were on the case pretty quickly and took it to the vet but, sadly, it had to be put to sleep.

It is reported that 50,000 badgers are killed on the UK’s roads each year. That number equates to 137 per day or 5 per hour and is estimated to be around 1/5 of the total population.

Badgers are creatures of habit and often use the same routes from their setts to feeding grounds. They have no option but to cross roads, particularly when new highways have been built in rural areas. We can help reduce their casualty rate by reducing speed on country roads and being particularly observant in the evenings and early mornings when they are commuting.

The safety and welfare of our country’s wildlife is important. Badgers have no road sense and are right at the top of animal casualties behind pheasants. We need to compensate for their lack of awareness by expecting the unexpected. Slow down and give these wonderful little animals a chance to live.