During October, on a site in Gloucestershire, we closed a badger sett for our client. We cleared the area of vegetation, and on mixed ground including some areas of hard-standing, we installed badger fencing, which incorporated one-way badger gates.
An ecologist confirmed that the badgers had vacated the sett, so we recently returned to carry out a destructive search of the tunnel system beneath.
Under the careful watch of an ecologist, and using a small excavator, we gently removed vegetation around the sett, and then fully closed the sett by carefully digging back the tunnels step by step to make sure not to harm any animals that might still have been there. We then infilled the holes, tidied the site and reinstated the badger fencing.
Our client can now resume their development works with the assurance that the area is free from badgers.