Each year in the United Kingdom (UK), it is estimated that more than 10,000 badgers are tortured and killed for entertainment by huntsmen and their dogs! The barbaric and illegal blood sport of “badger baiting” is wreaking havoc on this protected species. We need your help to bring this carnage to an end by putting the cruel perpetrators where they belong – behind bars.
Badger baiting involves sending trained dogs down badger setts (dens) to locate and hold the animal at bay while hunters dig them out. Once exposed, the badger is dragged from its sett and TORN APART by a pack of savagely trained dogs.
Badger baiting takes place mostly between November and March when badger sows are pregnant or giving birth…
Badgers are typically shy and peaceful creatures. But during the cold winter months, they become defensive – ferociously protecting their homes when females are pregnant or nursing their young. Badger baiters exploit this defensive behavior which makes for “better sport”.
Friend, so-called “better sport” also means graver injuries to the hunters’ dogs. A badger has great strength and their powerful digging claws can do serious damage when they’re fighting for their life. The dogs are often left with horrific wounds. Worried that veterinarians may report them, hunters usually stitch the dogs’ wounds themselves, without giving the animal pain relief or antibiotics. If the dogs are severely hurt, they are simply shot or tied up and left to die. We must do our best to bring this horror to an end, but we need your help.
Either through injury or exhaustion, the terrified creature will eventually succumb while crowds place bets and cheer on the pack of dogs. A large badger, such as a pregnant female, can be sold for as much as £700 ($970) to the gangs who run these underground torture events. In addition to the horrific injuries from being viciously attacked, the badgers are often deliberately wounded to guarantee a longer fight or to “protect” valuable winning dogs. This is usually done by either breaking their jaw or leg or pulling their teeth out!
The badger is the UK’s last remaining large carnivore – an iconic creature who urgently needs our help. Despite being a protected species since 1992 – despite badger baiting being illegal for almost 200 years, the unspeakably cruel “sport” continues to thrive on a terrifying scale, particularly in Wales and the surrounding areas. ASI cannot – will not – allow this to continue. Please, donate today and help us root out the people responsible!
Those found guilty of badger baiting face sentences of up to six months in prison peroffense, hefty fines and lifetime bans on owning animals – but the challenge lies in catching them. That is why it is critical that we fund undercover investigations to root out the callous criminal gangs at the heart of this horror.