Badgers are vermin and shouldn't be so bloody be protected

[Vagabond]

Badgers are huge and ugly bastards. We've had one in our garden for the last two nights who killed our daddy-bunny and who has now breached our best enclosure to take our babies too. You should see these beasts. Size of a big dog and bloody frightening. I always thought Badgers would be cute and snuggly - NOT - they're ugly beasts who don't deserve the protection they get. They spread TB, they kill chickens, bunnies and all sorts of garden animals and all they seem to contribute is mass murder and digging great, big holes in your garden.

I loathe the creatures.

Anyway rabbits are the meat equivalent of grass. Loads of 'em and just perfect for grazing on.

LMAO.

This is one of the funniest threads I've read in a long time.

Sorry for Vagabond's loss of rabbits, though.

And proper standard sized Dachshunds are about the same size as a badger!

yeah, the badger is just fluffier with a bigger bottom really.

Just doesn't work, 'Size of a sausage dog and bloody frightening'

Honey badgers aren't that big are they? And they're terrifying - even lions are scared of them (I know this having watching Roar. Or Deadly 60).

They've been known to dig up human corpses in India

To be fair, honey badgers ( Mellivora capensis ) are not that closely related to British badgers ( Meles bastardes ).

no no no! The proper name for British badgers is Meles Grumpiestis Brockiensis.

or Meles Biteyfuckeris

For the sake of clarity the definition of vermin is

1. Various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health.
2. Animals that prey on game, such as foxes or weasels.

I think we can say that Badgers fall into this category.

Should we be able to find ways of dealing with them when they come too close to human habitation without having to produce our height in paperwork? Yes.

Should we kill all the badgers indiscriminately and with no concern for welfare or conservation? No

Should people stop getting over excited about our native fauna and get used to the fact that if people and animals are to live together then sometimes the ones with the opposable thumbs will win? Yes

IMHO

"sometimes the ones with the opposable thumbs will win? Yes "

I'd be happy with 'sometimes', it's when they always win and usually with fairly unequal odds that I have a problem. Badger is making my garden look untidy! Bastard! Let's kill him and all his family and makes sure none of them ever get a chance to breed

Problem is that there are so few places where non-human animals can live comfortably without coming into conflict with humans. I can't help thinking that as we are the ones with the big brains and the ability to think round problems (as well as the opposable thumbs) that we perhaps should be the ones that compromise and come to some sort of accomodation with them.

Quite agree Ormirian, we don't own this planet we share it.

If you want your pets/chickens etc. safe from wild animals who naturally prey on such things, make sure you build them a secure pen. Or get an indoor pet.

Loads of wild animals round us do damage to gardens - hares, deer, badgers, rabbits - I'm a keen gardener but not to the point of destroying wildlife - it's up to me to fence my garden if I want to keep animals out (although actually I feel very privileged to be able to see them in my garden.)

Yeah!

Admittedly my garden pests are restricted to slug and snails (slimy bastards!) but I agree in principle kurri!

Where I live the badgers have bred berserkly. Two in the morning the bloody place is heaving with them and they are indeed huge. I had a stand off with one the other night (about midnight), it stood in the middle of the pavement and we stared at each other and I was frit. Luckily, it ambled off across the road.

They have also duck up all the allotments and eaten everything in sight.

Oh that's brill, tough!

Hully, I had Plans to grow veg when we moved here, but gave up when I saw the open-cast worm mines in our lawn.

I used to like badgers, until one moved into the field we keep our horses in and dug massive great holes everywhere (the sort that don't look like holes until you stand on them and the bloody ground gives in!) one of the horses got stuck in one of these hole, resulting in injury and vets bills and there was nothing we could do to remove the badger.

Thankfully, it moved on by itself, haven't seen it for about 6 months and hope it doesn't come back.

I like badgers, me. I did my BSc biology dissertation on them. Filled up a whole fridge with badger poo samples (checking their diet - mainly invertebrates, and turkey legs).

We have so few decent-sized furry mammals in the UK, I would miss them if they went. On the other hand I loathe foxes, so am woefully inconsistent I know.

Badgers, foxes, squirrels, all pests and vermin. Hit a badger with my car once, caused massive damage to it, they are not small.

I like badgers too - they are indeed bitey fuckers, but if you treat them like that grumpy spinster aunt (with the bristly chin that you hate kissing hello) then everyone will get on fine. We used to have badger baiters in the quarry near us and I was completely disgusted by it. There are a lot of badgers by roads nowadays (I suspect that only a small percentage are actually hit by cars...) which is a terrible shame. My family farm and have huge problems with badgers, but it's just part of living in the countryside. They are gits for digging monster holes, but we do a much better job of fucking up the countryside ourselves...

I cannot get my head round the idea that badgers are a pest because they make a big dent in your car if you hit them. Who was around first the badgers or the cars?

I imagine on Badgernet they bemoan the fact that a car can make a bloody big dent in a badger!

I hate badgers on account of seeing poor Adam on countyfile everytime he has to kill some of his cows when they get TB.

Never come across one in real life - think I will run in the opposite direction now if I do!

Oh FGS, badgers are decent, if somewhat gruff, stalwart country folk! No-one read Wind in the Willows?

Badgers are lovely, stripey and sweet. You are BVU and VILE OP!

Well, on my farm there are 7 established badger colonies. They've wrecked my vegetable patch, dug underneath an ancient devon bank and caused it to collapse. They've dug under fences and gates and stone walls causing serious damage. They've broken through a chicken wire floor and taken all of my quail.

Every one of our neighbours is under TB restrictions for their cattle as a result of positive tests in their herds. We, for the moment, are the lucky ones - we avoid grazing our cattle where we know badgers forage, but every time we TB test my DH (who has built up our beautiful closed herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle over 13 years) spends 5 days praying. If only this government would sanction TB vaccine for cattle!

They are lovely wild animals, but also cause problems. And, YES, they are definitely bitey fuckers. Badgers have no natural predators and there are too many of them roaming this land IMHO.

Agree with Kurrikurri. Leave the badgers alone - they were here first!

KurriKurri rofl at Badgernet

Badgernet
By badgers for badgers

AIBU for wanting more than one turkey leg?