Watching badgers and foxes responsibly

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Know the law on setts

   Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 it is an offence to damage or destroy a sett, block its entrances, let a dog into it, or disturb a badger while it is occupying a sett, whether you mean to or are reckless about it. Natural England says remote cameras don't need a licence if you set them while the animals are away from their resting places and they don't change the animals' behaviour. Anything that interferes with an occupied sett needs a licence.

   Next: step 2
2. 2

   Step 2: Film paths, not entrances

   The easiest way to stay on the right side of the law is to film badgers and foxes where they travel and feed, such as a gap under a fence, a garden lawn or a well-worn path, rather than right at a sett entrance. Badger Trust says the best place for trail cameras is a secure spot such as a fence post on your own property.

   Next: step 3
3. 3

   Step 3: Set up in daylight and keep visits short

   Put the camera up and change cards during the day when badgers are underground and foxes are usually resting. Don't walk over a sett or close to its entrances; Badger Trust notes badgers can detect your scent for hours after you've been there. Check the camera as rarely as you can manage.

   Next: step 4

4. 4

   Step 4: Mount for medium-sized animals

   Badgers and foxes are bigger than hedgehogs, so a camera at around knee height on a post, angled slightly down along the path, usually works. Clear stems and long grass from in front of the lens. A no-glow camera is the least noticeable at night. See where to place a trail camera.

   Next: step 5
5. 5

   Step 5: Think twice before feeding

   Badger Trust does not recommend feeding badgers; in severe weather it says a small handful of peanuts will do, and in drought, water and covered cat biscuits. The Mammal Society says feeding foxes is not advised because it encourages them to rely on people. If you do put out a little food to bring animals into view, keep it small and occasional, only at night, and don't feed animals that have to cross a major road to reach you.

   Next: step 6
6. 6

   Step 6: Choose foods carefully

   For badgers, the Mammal Society suggests a light scatter of shelled, unsalted peanuts at night (small birds can choke on peanuts by day). For foxes it lists uncooked meat, eggs, fruit or boneless cooked meat, and says to avoid bread, cakes, chocolate, raisins or sultanas and cooked bones. If hedgehogs visit your garden, avoid attracting badgers and foxes, which can prey on them.

   Next: step 7
7. 7

   Step 7: Watching in person

   If you want to sit out near a sett, Badger Trust's tips are to be downwind, arrive at least an hour before dusk, wear dark clothes (not rustling waterproofs), skip the perfume, stay well back from the sett and use only a dim torch with a red filter.

   Next: step 8
8. 8

   Step 8: Respect neighbours and record your sightings

   Not everyone wants badgers or foxes in their garden, and the RHS warns neighbours may object to feeding. Log what you film with the Mammal Society's Mammal Mapper app or iRecord, or upload camera trap images to MammalWeb. Don't share the exact location of a sett publicly.