Three men fined after admitting interfering with badger sett on Boxing Day in Yorkshire

Jamie Lee Davies, 33, Nathaniel James Holmes, 29, and Brandon Reece Abbott, 28, all admitted the offence at Scarborough Magistrates Court on May 6.

The men were spotted on Boxing Day 2019 with five dogs and spades in private woodland near Church Fenton in North Yorkshire.

A member of public was suspcious of their actions and called the landowner and police.

When the landowner arrived, he discovered three spades left in a pool of water and a black terrier dog with serious injuries, sitting close to a known active badger sett.

As the trio tried to leave the area, they were stopped by an officer from North Yorkshire Police. The officer seized the four dogs, which were taken to police kennels, while the black terrier was taken to a vet.

He was found to have injuries to his jaw and teeth which were consistent to being caused by a badger. He was also covered in dried, caked mud. The dog was treated by a local vet and has since been rehomed.

Davies, of North Street, Castleford, was fined £428, Holmes, of St Andrews Road, Castleford, was fined £252 and Abbott, of Watling Road, Castleford, was fined £656.

A statement from North Yorkshire Police, said: “It has taken a long time to get this case through the courts due to covid and other delays but I’m pleased that the three men have finally faced the consequences of their cruel actions.

“Interfering with a badger sett is not only illegal but it causes immense suffering to both the badgers involved and the dogs who are sent down the setts.

“The black terrier we found at the scene had serious injuries to his jaw and teeth which the vet identified as consistent with those seen by dogs involved in badger baiting. The people who take part in this abhorrent ‘sport’ will send a dog down into a badger sett in order to ‘flush out’ the badger and use locator collars to keep track of where they are underground.

“Sometimes the badger will be allowed to run away but often they will be brought to the surface and the dogs encouraged to fight them, sometimes ending in the badger’s death and nearly always ending with both the dog and the badger suffering serious injuries.

“The dog we found had a number of older injuries which had not been treated, causing him immense pain.

“I’d like to thank the quick thinking members of the public who spotted what these men were up to and called the police and I’d also like to thank our expert witnesses who supported our investigation.”