The peak time for badgers being killed on the roads is in late-spring and the summer. This is because there are more Cubs about at this time of year and badgers are having to travel further for food.

Road users can help by taking care when driving - especially in areas where badgers have been seen before. Warning Signs for drivers can help, as can badger-proof Fencing along roadsides; and environmental management to keep them off the roads. One example is allowing worm-rich pasture on the sett-side of the roadway or railway (a badger will tend not to travel as far if there is a very good food source on its doorstep).

It is also possible to construct special Badger Tunnels under New Roads - although this is most often done where hitting a badger might cause human injury or where there is a big badger population.

Badger tunnels have been constructed under the M5 motorway in Somerset. Although it did take the badger a few years to use it, that tunnel is now saving badgers' lives (and reducing car accidents on the motorway).

A much better idea is the use of Wildlife Bridges - as these provide natural, wide, green walkways over roads and railways which are suitable for all animals; and avoid the risks of flooding by rainwater or salt-water or foul-water run-off or pollution from the road surface.

Railways

Also, some badgers are killed by being hit or electrocuted on Railway lines. However, railway lines tend to be better managed for wildlife than before - especially as allowing badgers to dig under a railway line or in an embankment can cause subsidence.

Despite the high number of accidents, badger populations in some areas still remain high.

Risks to People

Hitting a badger with a motorbike can mean that the rider is seriously injured or killed.

Hitting a badger at high speed (for example on a motorway) can cause the driver of a vehicle to lose control, potentially resulting in a serious traffic accident.

It is an order of magnitude cheaper to build a wildlife tunnel under a new road, before the new road is built, than when the road has been completed. For details of how to build wildlife tunnels, please contact a Badger Consultant.

Helping Out

For some ideas on how to help badgers cross busy roads and railways, look at our Badger Tunnels page.