Anja Murray: Isn't it time we stopped killing badgers?

Beautiful, intelligent and benign animals - badgers and their cubs are a protected species

The European badger is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe

I once encountered a clan of badgers when out surveying in a remote patch of woodland — the kind of woods at the top of a steep slope where people rarely wander. It was early afternoon, so these badgers were defying their reputation of being shy and nocturnal. When badgers live in such out-of-the-way locations, they are more inclined to go out foraging in daylight, though normally they keep to the safety of darkness to venture from their underground homes.

There were adults and juveniles in the group, and I got to watch them using their long snouts to rummage in the rich woodland soil, I was crouching close, but downwind of the group, so they didn’t pick up my scent nor see me there. These are stunning-looking wild animals. Their long black and white striped snout is extraordinary, and their substantial mass was impressive too. I was surprised by the delicate way they would scrape and poke in the ground of the woodland, probably picking out bluebell roots, earthworms, grubs and leatherjackets to fill their tummies.