Abstract
Animal populations generally increase after release from hunting pressure and/or cessation of illegal persecution. Implementation of full legislative protection of the Eurasian badger Meles meles in Great Britain is thought to have led to increases in badger abundance due to reduced levels of persecution. Conversely, prevalence of badger persecution in Northern Ireland was historically much higher than in Great Britain, and badger abundance remained stable over time despite similar legislative protection. We examined temporal changes in the prevalence of badger sett disturbance in Northern Ireland from 1990/1993 to 2007/2008 in relation to population status. A total of 56 (12.6%) of 445 setts surveyed during 1990/1993 had been disturbed compared to 29 (4.4%) of 653 setts during 2007/2008. This was a significant decline (−65%) in the incidence of sett disturbance over the 14–18-year period. Most notably, the incidence of digging at badger setts, indicative of local badger baiting activity, declined from 50% to 3.5% of disturbed setts. Signs of recent disturbance were significantly more frequent at disused setts suggesting that once disturbed, badgers may vacate a sett. The number of badger social groups in Northern Ireland did not differ between the two study periods, suggesting that previously high levels of badger persecution did not limit the number of badger social groups. The stability of the badger population in Northern Ireland compared to the growing population in Great Britain cannot be attributed to changes in the prevalence of persecution. Differences in the trajectories of both populations could be due to a range of factors including climate, habitat composition and structure, farming practices or food availability. More work is needed to determine how such factors influence badger population dynamics.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Northern Ireland. Particular thanks to Paul Spyvee, Sarah Boxall and Dr. Jane Preston for providing in-the-field training to sett surveyors. We are grateful to all those who were involved in fieldwork including (listed in alphabetical order of surname) Tom Allsop, Iain Barrett, Gareth Burns, Carol Christie, Paul Cropper, Kieran Flood, Sheila George, Justin Hart, Amy Isherwood, Paula Keane, Berit Kostka, Toby Lancaster, Donal McCambridge, Alan McCluskie, Peadar O’Connell, Christine Oines, Kate Palphramand, Gill Robb, Adrian Woodley and Matt Wright. Thanks also to Drs. Sarah Hazel (née Feore) and Chris Smal for making data from the 1990/1993 survey available.
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Appendices
Appendix 1
The number of entrances (mean ± standard error) for different types of badger setts during 1990/1993 and 2007/2008
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Reid, N., Wilson, G.J., Montgomery, W.I. et al. Changes in the prevalence of badger persecution in Northern Ireland. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 177–183 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0560-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0560-8