Badgers are still hunted in most of the countries where they live. Many thousands are killed every year, for their fur, meat, or just for so-called 'sport'. In some countries - such as Germany and the USA/Canada badgers are be killed so their hair can be made into badger-hair shaving or painting brushes.

Even in Britain, where badgers are specially protected by the law, some people still dig them from their setts illegally. Badgers are also snared, poisoned and shot. In many cases, badgers killed or injured by snares are "accidental" victims, as the snare may have been set to catch a fox. That said, the animal caught in the snare suffers a long painful period of capture - and possible dies in agony, starved and dehydrated if no-one checks the snare every few hours.

Intensive agriculture and urban sprawl can have more serious effects. Badgers are creatures of regular habit and do not easily adapt to change. Where they are disturbed by development or people interfering with their setts, they often have problems in adapting, and may be forced to move on or die out. Unknown to many people, badgers quite often come into suburban gardens, parks and green spaces to feed.

Persecution by badger baiters who kill badgers for 'fun', and by "old school" gamekeepers who sometimes kill badgers in the belief that they damage livestock, has decimated the badger populations in some areas, particularly South Yorkshire. In Essex, badger populations have declined as a result of agricultural intensification.

Some people are starting to use more modern "technology" or methods to kill badgers. The availability of so-called night-vision equipment has allowed poachers and criminals to see in the dark - which can help them find nocturnal animals and avoid capture (by being able to see approaching gamekeepers or police officers some distance off in the dark). Some hunters also use a technique called "lamping", where a high-intensity searchlight is use to locate animals. The animals rapidly become disoriented by the bright light, at which point they are shot by hunting rifles or caught by Lurchers (a traditional breed of hunting dog).

In rare cases badgers have been poisoned - either accidentally or on purpose. In one famous case, a national pest control company accidentally poisoned some badgers, when they wanted to poison other wildlife instead. It was fortunate for the company that there weren't so irresponsible in their use of poison bait that no children came across the bait. However, the judge did give them a very severe warning, and an enormous fine. Individuals who have poisoned badgers intentionally or who have damaged or blocked their setts intentionally, have been given jail sentences.