Badger Consultants

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A Badger Consultant is a highly-experienced wildlife professional, who knows a great deal about badgers (and other protected species too), as well as other issues like the wildlife law and planning permission. A Badger Consultant will typically have many years experience of badgers, and will be able to deal with and help prevent the problems badgers can cause with both care and compassion.

Importantly, they will also be 100% familiar with the needs of Natural England and DEFRA, and will have been Natural England licence holders or applicants in their own right. Many badger consultants will be aware of the needs of the Court system, if they are called to act as an "expert" witness.

Being ecology consultants, they will charge for their services (possibly by an hourly, daily rate or whatever), but their charges can save you a great deal of money in the long term. This is especially true if you are a property developer, landowner, golf course, road-builder, railway company, fencing companies, local authority, wildlife park or something similar. It is almost always cheaper in the long run to employ a badger consultant before you submit planning applications and start building, than it is to change plans which have already been cast in stone.

As commercial consultants, they will also understand the requirements of business and commerce; as well as how to maintain good public relations for you too. If you are involved in a commercial project (or one in which there is the possibility of involvement by an insurance company or a legal department), the fact that most will provide a very business-like service should provide you with a great deal of re-assurance. You may also be protected by their professional indemnity cover too.

Most badger consultants will also have a good understanding of project management methods and time planning. Involving a badger consultant in the earliest stages of a project, will normally be a highly cost-effective option; as it will allow an architect or a project manager to understand how the needs of badger need to be accommodated, and whether it is likely that there will be any periods where building or site work will need to be stopped.

Of course, members of the public may also employ a badger consultant - either to help with planning-related issues or garden/estate management issues, or for formalised general advice. If you are involved in making claims against Insurance Policies for wildlife-related damage, it may be a good idea to speak to a badger consultant too; as they well have much more clout with an insurance company than you might if you are acting alone.

If you have a minor problem (such as garden damage), or you are interested in joining a membership-type organisation, you may like to speak to one of the UK's many Badger Groups or the Badger Trust. As charities, Badger Groups may be able to help householders for free (or for an appropriate voluntary donation); and most people find membership of a Badger Group both interesting and socially rewarding. All the badger consultants we have recommended have had a useful involvement with many badger groups, so they are able to work together when the need arises.

Irrespective who employs a badger consultant, we would always be happy to say that they would always do everything to guarantee the welfare of any badgers.

Badger Consultant or Pest Controller?

Do be aware that there is some confusion about the difference between a genuine badger consultant and a pest controller. A badger consultant is there to protect the interests of the  badgers and to keep the client doing the right thing within the law and for the sake of local ecology. A pest controller is generally some-one who uses cages, traps, poisons and guns to kill species which may be seen as pests. Relatively few pest controllers know very much about badgers; and most would not want to get involved in dealing with badger issues. Asking a pest controller to capture a badger in a cage and either kill it or take it away and release it somewhere else is against the law; and can result in all the people involved being prosecuted.

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