Police and rescue

Call for help immediately if you come across an injured badger or find wildlife crime in progress. Do not attempt to tackle the situation alone. If you can do so safely keep a wounded badger warm and immobilised till help arrives. Do not risk transporting it as it may wake and bite.  Badger cubs can be handled safely when little. Keep them warm but do not move them unless you are sure they have been abandoned. More information about orphaned cubs is available here.

if you see  badger baiting or wildlife crime currently taking place call 999 immediately, report as ongoing and ask them to attend. If you are able to, take pictures or a video of the event. Note any cars nearby along with their vehicle registration number.
DO NOT! approach the persons involved, they are likely to be violent criminals

For non emergency enquiries call 101 and ask for the wildlife officer.
Thames Valley Police wildlife officers are listed here

Always ask for a case number when you contact the police so it can be followed up.

The RSPCA cruelty line   0300 1234 999  

or email info@rspca-oxfordshire.org.uk

St Tiggywinkes Wildlife Hospital is based in Aylesbury.  24 hour line : 01865 881744

The Vale WIldlife Centre is based nr Tewksbury. Call 01386882288 *(7am to 5pm) Outside these hours the emergency number  for fox, badger and deer ONLY is 07961 473 574. Do not use this number for any other animal report.

Oxfordshire Badger Group volunteers do not provide an emergency call out service. Call us on 01865 881744 for advice during the day.

Harming a badger or disturbing their setts is a criminal act unless a licence has been granted by Natural England. Unfortunately, NE do not disclose this information to the public. The activity is unlikely to be approved in the badger breeding season which runs from 1st December to 30th June unless in highly exceptional circumstances. NE will respond to official enquiries (from the police or council officers).  If you call and ask them to confirm if a licence has been granted in a specified location our  experience is that  they will give members of the public a yes/no answer.  NE are contactable enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk or call 0300 060 3900

Developers have been known to destroy setts 'by accident'. If a sett or part of a sett is bulldozed the badgers will likely be trapped and suffocate. Treat as an emergency and intervene if possible.  There are also restrictions on what is euphemistically called 'a little gardening or tidying up the plot'.  Works such as felling trees above an active sett,  spraying of herbicide or using machinery close to the sett are all likely to need a licence and/or be done under the supervision of a qualified ecologist. It can also be helpful to contact your local council planning office to check the status of the development application.

We do not recommend taking an injured  badger or badger cub to a local vet. The animal will need specialist care from a wildlife expert.

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