Urgent appeal over badger attack
26 April 2006 - BBC News
An urgent plea has been made to whoever left a "petrified" badger hanging
from a harbour ladder in Aberdeenshire to come forward. The badger is recovering
from its ordeal in Fraserburgh - but cannot be returned safely to the wild until
it is known which sett it came from.
The Scottish SPCA said it was taking the "unprecedented step" of asking for
an anonymous phone call. The organisation's hotline can be called on 0870
737 7722.
The badger was found at the weekend and experts do not believe it would have
wandered through the town and harbour area on its own, so they suspect foul
play. A piece of rope was also found, which may have been used to try and drown
or hang the badger.
Scottish SPCA Chief Inspector John Carle said: "Finding an adult badger in
the harbour of a busy town was extremely worrying to say the least. But
this badger is not out of deep water yet as it must be released into the sett
where it came from, or into a completely badger-free sett. Badgers are
extremely territorial creatures, and if this badger was released into an
unfamiliar area with its own local population it could suffer terribly. We
are appealing for anyone with information on where this badger has come from to
please phone us, even if that caller wishes to remain anonymous."
The Scottish SPCA has received a number of calls regarding the incident, but
as of yet no significant leads have been established to find out where this
badger came from.
Referring to the actual discovery of the badger, Mr Carle said: "It was
petrified and clinging onto the rung. However it should make a full recovery."
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