Holderness Hunt kill badger – and run away!
On 27 January this year, Hull Wildlife Protectors (HWP) were monitoring the Holderness Hunt (who are based at Etton, near Beverly) when they witnessed a fox fleeing across one of the region’s wide flat fields. Huntsman Tom Wright (formerly with the notorious Cheshire Forest Hunt) was seen to deliberately lead the hunt’s hounds along the […]
Llanberis man guilty of interfering with badger sett
35-year-old John Riley, from Llanberis, has pleaded guilty to interfering with a badger sett, and has been fined a pitiful £242 at Caernarfon Magistrates’ Court. He must also pay prosecution costs of £400. Riley had previously pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea ahead of trial. He was charged with sett interference “by causing a […]
Equipment Fund #10: Monitoring badger setts in Derbyshire
One of the UK’s most charismatic mammals, badgers are also one of the country’s most persecuted. Since the government began an ‘experiment’ in badger annihilation on behalf of the dairy industry (tearing up the Protection of Badgers Act 1992), hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered (see ‘The biggest wildlife genocide of our time is happening […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #7: Somerset Badger Monitors
One of the UK’s most charismatic mammals, badgers are also one of the country’s most persecuted. Despite being made illegal in 1835 badger baiting still takes place across the UK. Fox hunts illegally block badger setts to stop foxes hiding underground. And of course since the government began an ‘experiment’ in badger annihilation on behalf […]
Protecting the Wild Eqipment Fund #6: Derbyshire Against The Cull
We set up the Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund earlier in the summer this year to help put ‘eyes in the field‘, empowering people to protect British wildlife. We set the fund up because we know that many people who monitor are largely unfunded volunteers and often have no umbrella organisation to support them. That […]
Equipment Fund #4: Kirklees Badger Protection Group
One of the UK’s most charismatic mammals, badgers are instantly recognisable. While most people love them, badgers are also one of the country’s most persecuted animals. Despite being made illegal in 1835 badger baiting still takes place across the UK. Fox hunts illegally block badger setts to stop foxes hiding underground. And of course since […]
This community urgently needs your help to save badgers
Despite being a protected animal, badgers are perhaps our most persecuted species. One community in Saltdean, near Brighton, is urgently trying to save a sett of badgers from developers, and they need your help. Protect the Wild spoke to resident Debbie Julians, who, along with her neighbours, is trying to raise enough money to buy […]
Northumberland: Badger suffers excruciating death in snare
Another badger has died unnecessarily after getting caught in an illegal snare in Northumberland. The RSPCA was called out to the badger after receiving a call from the public. The charity said that the snare had become embedded in the creature’s neck and had to be cut out in three different places. The RSPCA’s Rachael […]
Damning new report slates government’s future plans to annihilate badgers
The government has said that it will end the badger cull as we know it by 2026. But it will replace intensive four-year culling with a plan to murder 100% of badgers in specific areas of England. Now a new report – authored by independent researchers, veterinarians, and epidemiologists – argues that these continued plans […]
The government murdered 33,627 badgers in 2022. It tested zero for bovine TB
The government, influenced by its farming lobby friends, continues to scapegoat badgers for the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Yet it didn’t test one of the 33,627 badgers culled in 2022 for the disease. Natural England, which works on behalf of Defra, recently published its figures of the number of badgers murdered in the 2022 […]
Government sanctions killing of 7,500 badgers in Avon since 2019
England’s badger population is being annihilated, and one of the worst-hit areas is Avon, in the southwest. 1,521 badgers were murdered in the region throughout September and October 2022 during the government’s annual cull. Avon has two ‘cull zones’ which Natural England issues licences for. One zone was in its fourth and final year of […]
As Defra ends vaccination scheme, the fate of badgers is bleak
As the government’s badger bovine tuberculosis (bTB) vaccination scheme comes to an end, campaigners have accused Defra of pulling the rug from under them. The Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BAVS) was due to run from 2019 to 2023. The government provided some funding towards private projects to vaccinate badgers in the so-called ‘Edge Area’ – […]
In his new TV show, Jeremy Clarkson laments that you can’t shoot or gas badgers
The badger is Britain’s most persecuted animal. It is attacked on many fronts – by the government during its annual badger cull, by badger baiters, and by the fox hunting community. But in his new programme, Clarkson’s Farm, Jeremy Clarkson spouts dangerous lies about the creatures. And now the Badger Trust has hit out at […]
Badger baiting: yet another arrest made
It’s thought that more than 10,000 badgers are murdered by baiters every year in the UK. And on 25 January yet another man was arrested on suspicion of badger baiting in North Yorkshire. Yorkshire Live reported that the man, in his twenties, was found with three injured dogs. The news website reported: “Police found a […]
What have badgers go to do with the bird shooting industry?
What have badgers got to do with bird shooting? Badgers have been hunted, baited, mistreated, exploited, and treated appallingly by humans for centuries. Both they and their setts are now protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, but since the start of the badger cull – the government-sanctioned killing of a protected species to […]
Badger facts
The Badger Scientific name: Meles meles At a glance Badgers are the UK’s largest remaining terrestrial mammalian predator. Despite being outlawed in 1835 badger baiting still takes place illegally across the UK Since 2013 around 260,000 badgers have been killed in an attempt to control Bovine TB – a disease of cattle. Everyone knows what […]
Adopt a badger
ADOPT A BADGER TODAY Although one of the UK’s most recognisable species and fully protected in law, the badger is under threat. As many as 250,000 badgers have already been killed in the government’s ineffective BovineTB control cull and despite the change of government more are slated to die in the coming years. Many more […]
Badger Persecution
End Badger Persecution With their stripey faces, twinkling eyes, and starring roles in many children’s books and films, badgers are one of the most beloved of British mammals – but also one of the most persecuted. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes it an offence to wilfully kill, injure, cruelly ill-treat, or take a badger […]
Speaking up for badgers at the Court of Appeal
Speaking up for badgers at the Court of Appeal On July 21st I posted a podcast (Badger Culls, Biodiversity, Birds, and the High Court) with ecologists Tom Langton and Dominic Woodfield which looked at the background to a challenge they were taking to the Court of Appeal on July 26th (yesterday). The conversation was complex […]
Five reasons the Planning and Infrastructure bill will be disastrous for British wildlife
Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to allow companies to pay to trash the British countryside. It will do away with existing checks and balances in the planning system and establish a legal framework allowing developers to destroy irreplaceable natural ecosystems. Corporations will pay into a planned Nature Restoration Fund in order to ‘offset’ the […]
Planning bill petition
Scrap the Planning and Infrastructure Bill 8818 people have taken action so far. Help us reach 10000 First name Last name Email Phone Subject Letter Dear Angela Rayner MP and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, I am writing to express my deep concern over the Planning and Infrastructure (PI) Bill recently introduced by your government. If […]
RSPCA draws attention to attacks on wildlife with catapults, but is media outrage selective?
There has been a significant increase in the number of reported attacks on wildlife with catapults, says the RSPCA. A petition to ban the sale of catapults and ammunition and the carrying of catapults in public places has gathered over 22.5k signatures. Protect the Wild condemns the wanton killing of wildlife with catapults and other […]
RSPB: ‘Relief’ brood meddling ends, but still pushing licencing
The RSPB – the nation’s largest and most influential bird charity of course – has released a statement on the news that Natural England has decided not to approve a new licence for ‘brood meddling’, a conservation sham sanctioned by Defra (the government department which sanctioned the iniquities of the equally sham ‘badger cull’). Brood […]
Four more satellite-tagged Hen Harriers have vanished since January
As we reported earlier this month, on 14 April 2025 Natural England (NE) quietly released a blog titled “Conclusion of Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial”. In it John Holmes, NE’s Director, Strategy – Landscape, Peat and Species, wrote that “The experimental trial of hen harrier ‘brood management’ has ended…illegal killing of hen harriers has continued, […]
Labour’s new planning bill “will lead to permanent biodiversity loss”
Labour’s new Planning and Infrastructure (PI) Bill will have devastating and long-lasting impacts on British wildlife. Protect the Wild explains why. The announcement of the PI Bill has been a wake-up call for many of Britain’s environmental defenders. The legislation, if passed, will allow developers to destroy natural habitats as long as they pay a […]
Trail hunting: government reaffirms support for ban
On April 1st Perran Moon, the Labour MP for Cornwall’s Camborne and Redruth constituency, called on the government to ban so-called trail hunting and made a plea for jail time for hunters who are caught breaking the law. Currently, trail hunting – which supposedly involves hunts laying scent trails for hounds to follow, a scenario […]
Hen Harier Brood Meddling: “Illegal killing of Hen Harriers has continued.”
On the 14th March 2025 a blog on the Natural England (NE) website announced the ‘Conclusion of the Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial’. With a curious mix of exaggeration and understatement, John Holmes, NE’s Director, Strategy – Landscape, Peat and Species, wrote that “The experimental trial of hen harrier ‘brood management’ has ended, concluding that […]
Bird shooting ends on huge Scottish estate after takeover by conservation company
Bird killing in Britain is an incredibly normalised affair. This is evident in the fact that of all the issues Protect the Wild campaigns on, shooting appears to be the only one that the Labour government plans to do nothing about. Recently, however, blasting birds out of the sky became just that little bit less […]
How Protect the Wild fought for wildlife in 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, Protect the Wild is reflecting on our work over the last year. We campaigned hard to secure the change that Britain’s brilliant but beleaguered wildlife so desperately needs. While achieving an end to the persecution of wild animals is most definitely a work in progress, we wanted to share […]
Ten reasons why 2024 was a great year for wildlife
It’s that time of year again when we remind ourselves that 2024 was, in many ways, a good year for wildlife! The Tories were ousted, and the hunting industry is terrified that its days are numbered. Here’s ten reasons why this year was a positive one. 1. The argument has been won! Trail hunting IS […]
‘Hounds were on her straight away’: South Wales sabs report another fox kill
South Wales Hunt Saboteurs reported that Sennybridge Farmers Hunt’s hounds caught and killed a female fox on 14 December. Unfortunately, the incident happened very suddenly, too quickly for foot saboteurs to intervene. But sabs did retrieve her body and ” laid the lovely fox to rest in a peaceful place far, far away from hunt […]
The next post office scandal? How flawed science justifies the slaughter of a “protected” species
Imagine this: for decades, an entire government policy causing mass death is founded on evidence that many scientists now say is deeply flawed. Like the infamous Post Office scandal, where innocent workers were blamed for crimes they didn’t commit, the badger cull hinges on a narrative that points the finger at badgers for spreading bovine […]
South Thames Hunt Sabs: sabbing the notorious Kent Hunt
Towards the end of September this year we were approached by a ‘new’ sab group: South Thames Hunt Sabs. Operating in the South of England and beyond, the group is ‘newly-formed’ but is (they told us) made up of a “team of dedicated individuals who collectively share a mixed skillset and an abundance of experience […]
YOUGOV: survey shows Brits’ mixed views on hunting wildlife
A recent YouGov poll attempted to gauge the British public’s views on hunting. The findings will be a blow to hunters who want to be recognised as a protected minority group in the UK so they can enjoy their pastime in peace. The poll results suggest that if the hunters’ demand were decided by a […]
Chris Packham needs your help to get trail hunting banned
Chris Packham is calling on the public to raise a voice for nature by urging the Labour government to ban trail hunting. This is a type of hunting that is meant to serve as an alternative to chasing and killing wild animals. But as the wildlife TV presenter and conservationist points out, there is ample evidence […]
We’ve launched bloodbusiness.info
On Saturday 27 July we launched a new website bloodbusiness.info – but what is it and what is it designed to do? In a nutshell, bloodbusiness.info is a secure list (or database) of businesses that in one way or another support the ‘blood businesses’ of hunting with dogs and the shooting of birds and mammals […]
Taking on the bird shooting industry: our plans
At Protect the Wild we say we want three things: to end hunting, end bird shooting, and end the badger cull. Over the last year we have pretty much focussed on hunting with dogs: mainly fox hunting, but in a series of animations and Secret Monitor posts also stag and hind hunting, and hare coursing […]
Cautious optimism: What a new government could mean for wildlife
The Tories are out. Labour has won the election with a huge majority, taking almost 300 seats more than the Conservatives. What might this mean for wildlife? Protect the Wild outlines our hopes for the next government.
#RestoreNatureNow march – 60000 of us heading in the same direction
On Saturday 22 June, 60,000 activists walked through London. All ages, all backgrounds, an almost unimaginably broad range of interests and concerns. Even a few years ago we might have seemed disparate, unconnected with each other, but for a glorious, precious few hours we united behind two simple messages: 1) our world is dying, we […]
Hunting lobbyists desperately claims “we will not give up” as hunting ban looms
The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), the hunting industry’s cheerleader and supposed regulatory body, has cried “WE WILL NOT GIVE UP” in a last desperate bid to save hunting. Labour is set to win the next election, and has stated in its manifesto that if elected it will ban trail hunting. It is common knowledge […]
Will our vote make a difference for wildlife? Yes.
The General Election will take place on 4 July. Over the years, the Tories have effectively declared war on Britain’s wildlife. But are the other parties any better? Protect the Wild takes a look at their manifestos, and whether they pledge to defend animals. The latest polls give Labour a clear lead, with the Conservatives […]
The Secret Monitor: Endsleigh Shoot, Devon
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public while a police force seems happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In this post […]
Rishi Sunak: it’s time to go!
Ahead of a worsening economic outlook and with his personal popularity at a historic low, on May 22nd Rishi Sunak decided ‘enough was enough’ and called a General Election. It was certainly about time. Even without his self-sabotaging gaffes this week – including of course his spectacular lack of respect for the thousands who died […]
The General Election 2024
The General Election 2024 Vote for the wild General elections are crucial for wildlife, the environment, and the climate. And that ultimately means for us, too! How the government decides to support wildlife, its spending plans and its priorities, the legislation it passes or repeals, has a huge impact on everything we love and hold […]
Tory MP Ben Wallace joins British Hound Sports Association board
As the general election approaches, the Tories continue to remind us why they’re not fit for government. News that MP and ex-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has joined the British Hound Sports Association board is yet another indication that this party needs to be ousted. Of course, anti-hunting campaigners have always known that Wallace is pro-hunting. […]
Protesters descend on fox hunting supporter Jeremy Clarkson
TV ‘personality’ and farmer Jeremy Clarkson has never hidden his contempt for Britain’s wildlife. After letting one of England’s most criminal hunts chase foxes and block badger setts on his land, protesters paid a visit to his company. Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, Gloucestershire Badger Office, Cotswold Hunt Sabs, Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch, Gloucestershire Badger Group […]
The Secret Monitor: East Yorkshire’s Holderness Hunt
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public but a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In this post […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #17: Cotswold Hunt Sabs
As we wrote recently we reached a major milestone earlier this month: 500 paid subscribers here on Substack. Just a few weeks later that post is already very out of date! That figure is now actually nearing 600, which is fantastic news for wildlife up and down the UK because Protect the Wild takes absolutely […]
Ten reasons why 2023 was a good year for wildlife
For those of us who love wildlife, it is easy to fall into despair when we read reports of foxes being killed and birds of prey being poisoned. Many of us will need a reminder that positive events happened in 2023! As the year comes to a close, we give ten reasons why this was […]
The Secret Monitor: Without fear or favour?
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In their latest […]
The Secret Monitor: Partners in crime – who’s enabling the cruelty of stag hunting?
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In the sixth […]
Equipment Fund #11. Cheshire Independent Hunt Monitors – an ‘eye in the sky’ on Cheshire’s hunts
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in Summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘ (and ‘eyes in the sky’!), supporting and empowering people to protect British wildlife. We use the fund to provide equipment like body cams, trail cams, night vision kit, and video cameras to monitors and activists working […]
