Litter warning after death of badger tangled in plastic

The plastic had become tangled around the badger's neck Credit: Nicolette Dowler

A badger cub on an Oxfordshire nature reserve is thought to have died after becoming entangled in plastic waste.

The young male lived at a reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

Staff had been monitoring the badger on cameras set up around the animal's trap and were concerned after spotting a piece of plastic litter stuck around its neck.

They spent weeks trying to get close enough to the badger to be able to remove the plastic, but were unsuccessful.

Now they have highlighted the case in an appeal urging people not to litter anywhere, especially at nature reserves.

Julia Lofthouse, the Mammal Projects Manager at the Trust said: "This is such a heartbreaking case. Badgers are already under threat in our area from culling, and (we) are running a widescale vaccination program to protect them from bovine tuberculosis."

The young cub was first spotted with its 'plastic necklace' in April this year, by a volunteer who was using a camera to monitor the sett.

The footage showed a mother badger emerging from the sett with some of her cubs, when they were estimated to be around 10 weeks old.

  • Camera footage from the badgers' set:

Credit: Nicolette Dowler

The team started putting peanuts around the sett to encourage the cubs out in the hope of catching the badger with a net.

For several weeks, they worked with the rescue team from Oxfordshire Badger Group and made several more, but the cub never got close enough to be caught. 

Camera footage later showed that only two of the cubs were still alive from the original litter of six.

Wildlife staff were unable to remove the plastic Credit: Nicolette Dowler

Nature reserves have seen a large increase in visitors over the past year, as more people have ventured outdoors during lockdown. But in some areas this has also meant the countryside has seen more litter.

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive at the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust said: "People don't always realise the devastating effect littering has on the natural environment, but this tragic case shows exactly how it can harm our precious wildlife."

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust has been vaccinating badgers at its reserves since 2014.