Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

ALL naturalists will be pleased that four men found guilty of killing a badger were convicted with the help of DNA testing.

This has opened up a new opportunity to stamp out the activity of badger baiting.

First a badger is caught and then placed in a pit. The jaws of the mammal are often broken and then terriers are set upon it.

Large sums of money are then bet on which dog survives longest.

There are many variations of this obscene activity.

You will notice that I have not once used the word "sport."

DNA testing will prove useful because the badger men have among them some very intelligent people, including those who write books on natural history - and even solicitors. Up against such influential folk, those who want to protect badgers need to make use of every bit of scientific evidence at their disposal.

Last week in Rossendale I saw a dead badger which had obviously been run over.

They, like many other animals, are dazzled by headlights. Motorists driving along country roads should be more aware of animals crossing and adjust their speed in anticipation. Once a creature is seen then headlights should be dipped.

In the 10 days since I started preparing this article, I have seen a rabbit, a hare, a hedgehog and a roe deer at Devil's Elbow, near Whalley.

Many mammals, including badgers and foxes, are active during autumn.

At this time the young are becoming independent and are searching for somewhere to settle down away from their parents, who now need their own space.

It is while they are moving about in strange surroundings that many road casualties occur.

In autumn badgers become quite fat and this has led many people to suggest that they hibernate. Squirrels also build up body fat in the autumn but they do not hibernate either.

What happens is that badgers and squirrels show a lot of animal cunning, which I think is just another way of describing common sense. In very bad weather, such as blizzards, torrential rain or high winds, the animals just sleep soundly in their setts or drays and wait for the weather to improve.

During these periods they live off their body fat.

Unlike bats and hedgehogs they do not sleep throughout the winter.

Indeed, squirrels actually start their breeding season in February and sow badgers often give birth to their cubs with snow still on the ground.

Compared to the 1970s our badger population has improved but we still need to protect them from the evil baiters and DNA testing will help in the fight against them.

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