Dead Animals and Birds (Carrion)
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Encounters in the wild
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 Also known as 'carrion', dead animals and birds can be
a very
important source of food in winter, when other food is hard to find. In short, if a badger comes across any dead animal carcass, it will
usually pay it a close inspection and then, as often as not try
to eat it. Whilst it can be upsetting to see any animal killed
on the roads or railways; such accidents do provide a bonus meal
to many animals; this being especially beneficial in the winter,
when food would otherwise be scarce. Overall, badgers provide a very
useful benefit in the countryside. The little damage they
actually do, is balanced out very well by the good they do in
eating potential pest species (like rabbits, mice, rats and insect pests)
and in tidying up the places they live in by eating carrion.
Badger! Innocent or Guilty?
There are many anecdotal reports of badgers having been seen
eating animals such as lambs, calves,
cats, dogs, rabbits, hare and so on.
As
a pet owner, for example, you would find it terribly distressing
to see your cat run over by a speeding car. To the badger, a dead
(or dying) cat at the side of the road provides a free meal. Of
course, animals with four-legs can suffer with the most horrendous
injuries, and still
manage to drag themselves a
considerable distance away from the road accident before they
finally die. This is why the vast majority of the reports along
the lines of
"a badger killed my cat in the woods" are false. The
majority of cases are explained by the fact that the cat died in
the woods (for example, after a road accident, or due to a fox or
a dog; or even due to old age or other illness); and the badger
has been seen eating the carcass.
It may also be
that a dead animal was carried away from the roadside by a fox,
which has then been "mugged" for the meal by a larger or
hungrier
badger.
Badgers are opportunistic feeders, and will eat a wide variety
of foods they come across. Lambs that have already died may be
eaten by badgers. The lambs may well have died from natural
causes, exposure (being too cold or wet), infection or by dogs or
foxes. It may also be that the lamb was born in such poor health,
that it could not survive beyond a few hours out in the open
anyway. Foxes and loose dogs will kill lambs, but badgers do very
rarely indeed. It may be distressing to think of, but a badger
(fox or dog) killing a tiny sickly lamb that has only hours or
less to live; is only doing what the farmer or the vet would see
happen in a natural way. People often jump to the largely incorrect conclusion that because a badger is
seen eating an animal, it actually killed that animal. The
badger has a very wide-ranging diet and is a very opportunistic feeder.
It will eat almost anything which it thinks might be edible, and
it will even eat some things which clearly are not. One badger was
even seen eating large pieces of the metal tray from a Marks and Spencer's
ready-made meal! Carrion can be eaten by badgers living in
lowland and upland regions and all areas in between, but
genuine, proven predation of pets or farmed livestock or birds is exceptionally rare.
Do Badgers Kill Lambs?
The following is a quotation from the book "Badgers" by Ernest Neal and Chris
Cheeseman: "Suspected lamb killing by badgers have been reported from time to
time but very few instances have stood up to careful investigation. Usually
other animals have been the culprits. ... ... The circumstantial evidence for
suspecting badgers is that lamb remains are found outside a sett, but when this
happens it is almost certainly the work of a fox living there. Foxes habitually
bring back prey for their cubs, but badgers seldom need to do so since they
suckle their young for 3-4 months, by which time they are able to forage for
themselves. However, still-born lambs are occasionally eaten and also dead
sheep." In terms of whether lambs are EVER killed by badgers, Neal and
Cheeseman includes this quote: "Ernest knows of about seven cases over 50
years where the evidence is certain or highly probably. In all cases it appears
to have been the work of a single individual, usually an old boar." and "The
method of lamb killing by badgers is distinctive. Badgers usually go for the
hind quarters, especially the back region just above the root of the tail. This
is also the position attacked when badgers are fighting between themselves
during territorial disputes." and "One can say with conviction that lamb
killing is extremely rare; and if it does occur it is usually the work of a
rogue animal which finds normal food difficult to get. It is not usually a
hazard for a famer and no action to destroy badgers on a farm is justified as a
preventative measure." Birds and Eggs
The situation with badgers having been caught eating pheasants and other game
birds is very similar to the situation with lambs. Whilst it is tempting to
blame the badger for killing pheasants, the truth is normally that badgers will
find pheasants already dead (or dying after a shoot) and eat what they find.
It is clear that badger and foxes do kill poultry occasionally, but (in the case
of badgers) this is normally in circumstances of extreme hunger or extreme
delapidation of the chicken housing. Again, foxes are the key culprit for
chicken killings; with badgers generally being framed for generally simply
stealing a meal from the fox. Again the methods differ, with foxes generally
killing the birds by the neck, whereas badgers normally start at the vent (the
back end of the bird). Large Animals
There are a number of reports of badgers in Scotland feeding on the carcasses
of wild Red deer, and returning night after night to feed on the carcase until
little is left. There is no evidence of any kind that badgers kill deer. Birds
The great majority of bird remains found within badger stomachs are
undoubtedly eaten as carrion. Examples of birds eaten as carrion by badgers
include Rooks, Crows and Gulls. There is some evidence that badgers will eat
bird species such as pigeon, partridge and pheasant); as badgers discover those
carcasses which have not been retrieved after a shooting party. After severe
weather badger may also patrol the ground under large nesting or roosting sites looking for
dead birds. A well-known national gamekeepers association
gave advice that badgers are not a threat to most ground-nesting birds.
Unlike foxes, badgers very rarely seem to eat the eggs or chicks of
ground nesting birds. In all probability, their eyesight it not good enough to
see the camouflaged nests or chicks. Also, unless birds are
confined to cages, birds have the opportunity to fly away from a fox or a
badger. In any event, the major cause
of death of many ground-nesting species (such as lapwing, curlew, etc) is from
farm animals (such as cattle and sheep) who trample or lay down over the
nests. The major cause of death of many game bird species is the gun, followed
by the motor vehicle. It should not be too surprising that badgers will eat the
meat from the piles of dead game birds that are disposed of after a shoot; or
eat birds killed on the roads.
Chickens
It is very rare for a badger to kill a chicken. If chickens are locked in a
secure coop at night, they will be safe from foxes, dogs and badgers. It helps
if the chickens are able to fly up to high level perches; as this reduces the
risk for them if a predator got in amongst them. Note that some free-range birds
tend to find their own roosts and nests outside a stockade and these individuals
will be at prime risk of predation by many species (some types of raptor and
several types of mammal). The main culprit for the killing of chickens is the
fox. If a fox can gain access to a chicken run or a chicken house, then so can a
badger. If a fox steals a chicken (either to take back to its cubs or to cache
for later), then a badger could steal the chicken from the fox. Stealing a
chicken from a fox or a dog would be seen as fair game to a badger.
Therefore, protecting the chickens is about making sure that a
badger (or a fox) can not gain access to the coop. You need to
make certain that you do not leave doors open or ajar, and that
you do not have too flimsy a stockade.
However, you need to safeguard your own poultry, by keeping sheds
very secure. This means checking that floors, walls and doors are made
from substantial thicknesses of wood; and that the wood remains in
good condition (and not rotted away from the effects of dung and
urine). As an adult badger can move a 25kg stone to get at food underneath
it, you need to make sure that doors are strong and rigid; and
inspected regularly to check for rot and weakness. Hedgehogs
The smaller animals, normally have good senses or eyesight, hearing or smell,
and will do all they can to avoid badgers. A hedgehog, for example, will avoid
any area in which it can smell "fresh" badger urine or musk. On very rare
occasions a badger might kill a hedgehog. Again, in the vast majority of cases,
when badgers are seen eating hedgehogs, the poor hog died before the badger came
across it. Rabbits and Hares
Adult rabbits and hares will
generally outrun a badger with ease. If hares or rabbits end up as
roadkill; badgers will eat them though. Badgers will dig into the top of rabbit
warrens and take the young. Hares are a protected species; and
they are hunted by foxes. Increased badger numbers tends to cause the fox
population to fall; which means that the hare population tends to increase.
Increased badger numbers; tends to help hares thrive and rabbits diminish.
Dogs and Cats
People very occasionally see badgers eating dead cats or dogs, but these are
generally carcasses the badger has come across, and not killed itself. That
said, if a cat or dog is inexperienced enough to pick a fight with a badger,
then rarely this might result in a fight. Most animals have the sense to run
away from a fight they know they can't win. Even if a badger fights a cat or a
dog; the number of times this results in the poor cat or dog being killed is
extremely small. In our experience, very few pets are suicidal enough to fight a
badger, and most very quickly decide to return to the safety of the family home
as soon as the badger shows it's teeth and claws.
The riskiest situation for a pet cat or dog, is that injury,
old age or illness means it can't outrun a badger; or you are
feeding it in a location where it can be cornered. Accordingly, we
would say to feed your cat inside the house, and not in an
enclosed alleyway or outhouse. Another "high-risk" situation is if your pet has moved
into a new area; and it has yet to learn how to "fit in"
to the local wildlife society. Cats and dogs can sometimes be too
territorial for their own good; and a very few may be injured by a
badger if they don't use their feline or canine intuition properly
and back down. The best course of action is to keep your pets
indoors during the hours from dusk to dawn; unless you are with
them.
The badger will run from more or less all terriers and all
medium to large size dogs as soon as it becomes aware of their presence. Smaller
dogs would usually make enough noise to deter the badger or they would take the
sensible option and return to their owner or run off out of harms way. If a cat
thinks that a badger attack is imminent; it is normally well able to jump and
run out of the badgers way. Frogs, Toads and Newts
These are not common food items for badgers; and badgers have very little
effect on their numbers. Sometimes badger will be seen eating frogs and toads,
but they possibly do so out of extreme hunger. It would seem that frogs are
unpleasant to eat alive; and toads whether alive or dea (due to the skin
secretions). Anecdotal Lies
There are anecdotal lies of badgers having been seen killing enormous
animals such as sheep,
deer, cows and horses. We
have even heard reports that a badger was wrongly accused of
killing an ostrich. Despite the bizarre reporting from the 19th Century Newspapers, badger
can not and do not kill sheep, deer, cattle, horses or ostriches.
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