A social group of six badgers (Meles meles) (four adults and two cubs) was translocated from urban Bexhill, East Sussex, in August 1993 to a 1216m2 electrified enclosure in a part of Suffolk largely unoccupied by badgers. Three adult badgers (SY2, SY5 and SY6) escaped from the release site prior to the removal of the perimeter fence on 10 December and established a sett near a village, 2.9km from the release site. In January 1994, the remaining adult (SY4) left the release site and moved 1.8km to the grounds of a youth detention centre. The cubs did not desert the site as readily as the adults.

Home-range sizes for two adult females, SY4 and SY6, remained relatively constant, while that of adult male SY2 increased from 50ha in February to nearly 400ha in April. The range of SY2 overlapped parts of the ranges of the two females, although SY4 and SY6's ranges never overlapped.

The percentage volume of scavenged food in the diet increased monthly between February and April which corresponded to increased garden activity over this period. Earthworms were the most important item in the diet. The establishment of both main setts near housing and the preference for foraging in gardens suggests that badgers released into novel environments may search for familiar habitats.

It is concluded that translocation can successfully establish badgers at new locations. However, translocation as a solution to problems caused by badgers must only be viewed as a last resort, not least due to the potential for disease spread.

The restraint and sedation of wild animals has welfare implications, thus animal handling procedures should be well-informed and optimised to adhere to welfare standards. Furthermore, it is important that handling procedures should not cause future trap avoidance. This is of particular pertinence to European badgers (Meles meles), subject to extensive cage-trapping, relating to bovine tuberculosis epidemiology. We examined 4,288 capture/recapture events for 856 individual badgers, occurring between May 1999-September 2011, recording initial observed behaviour and reaction provoked by injection, on a scale ranging from still (0) to distressed/aggressive (3). Eighty-seven percent of adults and 76% of cubs were still (0) when approached initially and 75% of adults and 62% of cubs remained still when injected. Cubs exhibited significantly higher behavioural responses than adults, while female adults scored higher provoked scores than males. Importantly, the initial behaviour of an individual dictated its provoked response. Previous experience of capture was associated with lower subsequent behavioural response scores, while naïve badgers were most prone to score highly. Individuals first caught as cubs scored lower initial responses than those first caught as adults. Lower initial responses occurred in spring and summer and higher responses were associated with lice infestation. Behavioural criteria have potential to inform and optimise welfare in badger capture operations. This contributes to techniques allowing simple, non-invasive assessment of how wild animals in general respond to temporary restraint, where the psychological perception acts as the precursor to physiological stress.

Trypanosomes are haemoflagellate protozoa transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods causing infections in a wide range of mammals, including humans. Adult badgers (Meles meles, n = 2), displaying severe paralysis, ataxia and severe ectoparasite infestation, were rescued from a peri-urban area of Bari (southern Italy). Blood samples and ectoparasites were screened for Trypanosoma spp. by the combined PCR/sequencing approach, targeting a fragment of 18S rRNA gene. Smears of haemolymph, guts and salivary glands of the alive ticks were microscopically observed. No haematological alterations, except thrombocytopenia, were found. Trypomastigotes and epimastigotes were observed in the blood smears of both badgers and Trypanosoma pestanai was molecularly identified. Out of 33 ticks (i.e. n = 31 Ixodes canisuga, n = 2 Ixodes ricinus) and two fleas (Ctenocephalides felis), 11 specimens (n = 5 I. canisuga engorged nymphs, n = 4 engorged females and n = 2 I. ricinus engorged females) tested positive only for T. pestanai DNA. All smears from ticks were negative. The present study firstly revealed T. pestanai in Ixodidae and badgers from Italy, demonstrating the occurrence of the protozoan on the peninsula. Further studies are needed to clarify the occurrence of the only known vector of this parasite, Paraceras melis flea, as well as other putative arthropods involved in the transmission of T. pestanai.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is primarily a disease of cattle. In both Ireland and the UK, badgers (Meles meles) are an important wildlife reservoir of infection. This paper examined the hypothesis that TB is spatially correlated in cattle herds, established the range of correlation and the effect, if any, of proactive badger removal on this. We also re-analysed data from the Four Area Project in Ireland, a large-scale intervention study aimed at assessing the effect of proactive badger culling on bovine TB incidence in cattle herds, taking possible spatial correlation into account. We established that infected herds are spatially correlated (the scale of spatial correlation is presented), but at a scale that varies with time and in different areas. Spatial correlation persists following proactive badger removal.

Mycobacterium bovis infects the wildlife species badgers Meles meles who are linked with the spread of the associated disease tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. Control of livestock infections depends in part on the spatial and social structure of the wildlife host. Here we describe spatial association of M. bovis infection in a badger population using data from the first year of the Four Area Project in Ireland. Using second-order intensity functions, we show there is strong evidence of clustering of TB cases in each the four areas, i.e. a global tendency for infected cases to occur near other infected cases. Using estimated intensity functions, we identify locations where particular strains of TB cluster. Generalized linear geostatistical models are used to assess the practical range at which spatial correlation occurs and is found to exceed 6 in all areas. The study is of relevance concerning the scale of localized badger culling in the control of the disease in cattle.

In our study three badger Meles meles populations separated by only a few km but subjected to different environmental conditions were compared. Differences are especially marked for climatic factors, the three areas being located at different altitudes, and for intensivity of soil use by people. The diet of the three populations was significantly different, with one or two dominant items in each area: mammals and cereals in the mountain, maize in the mid-mountain and in the lowland areas. In the most intensively cultivated area, maize was the most consumed item in autumn and spring, several months after harvesting. Earthworms had only a secondary importance in the diet in the mountainous area, but were negligible in the mid-mountain and lowland areas. Soil management seemed to play a preponderant role, mostly owing to soil quality and topography. Climate seemed to have a secondary effect only.

This paper examines the relationship between the number of occupied setts in a badger social group territory and badger group size, breeding success, and status of infection with Mycobacterium bovis (TB). The data used were from a long-term epidemiological and ecological study of a high-density population of badgers Meles meles in south-west England. The number of occupied setts in a social group was significantly and positively related to the number of badgers caught in the social group, so that as a social group increases in size, badgers occupy more of the available setts. This relationship remained significant when numbers of adults, adult males and adult females were examined. The number of breeding females, number of cubs and sex ratio was not related to the number of occupied setts in a social group. It is possible that the advantages to breeding females of a larger number of setts available to breed in might be outweighed by the increased aggression found in larger groups. The TB score for prevalence and for incidence of social groups was significantly and positively related to the number of occupied setts in a social group, such that the more occupied setts there were in a territory, the higher the TB index of the group. Possibly the setts themselves contribute to the persistence of TB within social groups, or badgers infected with TB might show a difference in behaviour from uninfected badgers resulting in their increased use of outlying setts.

Estimating the size of badger populations at a local scale using direct observation is difficult because of their nocturnal and elusive lifestyle. Methods based on live-trapping can provide robust estimates of badger numbers, but are very labour-intensive and expensive. The development of alternative methods to predict badger numbers accurately would provide valuable tools for research and management. Badger setts are distinct structures, which exhibit various signs of activity. The physical appearance of setts has been used in the past as a crude guide to the number of badgers likely to be trapped. In this study, an objective system for quantifying levels of activity at badger setts was developed and related to the number of trapped badgers. Several types of activity were positively associated with badger numbers, although these associations varied seasonally. Furthermore, all individual activity scores, summary indices and combinations of activity types were poor predictors of the number of badgers trapped. This is probably because variations in environmental conditions and badger behaviour confound the relationship between activity and badger numbers.

This study assesses the pattern of occurrence of a generalist species, the Eurasian badger Meles meles, in forest fragments located in agricultural landscapes of central Spain with a coarse-grained pattern of fragmentation (<20% forest cover in the landscape). Four forest regions (n = 139 forest fragments) were sampled. Badger presence/absence in forest fragments was studied in relation to: forest size, isolation and vegetation structure. Badgers were tested to see if, despite their habitat generalism, they were negatively affected by forest fragmentation in this type of fragmented landscape. Results indicated a strong and significant effect of fragment size on badger occurrence (presence was rare in forest fragments <100 ha) and an important effect of isolation at a local scale. The response of badgers to forest fragmentation in Spain is quite different to the response in other European landscapes. In Spain, badgers cope with a divided coarse-grained landscape where suitable habitats are embedded in a largely unsuitable matrix (cereal croplands). In contrast, in Britain or central Europe, badgers may be benefited by forest clearances in a heterogeneous but non-divided landscape where small woodlots are separated by a matrix of good quality (mainly pastures) and fragmentation produces fine-grained mosaic landscapes where food and den sites are simultaneously enhanced. Species' response to forest fragmentation may strongly depend on the pattern of fragmentation and, in coarse-grained fragmented landscapes, generalist species may be affected in the same way as specialist ones.

In total 1502 faecal samples were collected from a population of European badgers (Meles meles) between 1992 and 1995 at Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, UK. Two coccidia species, Eimeria melis and Isospora melis, were identified. Cubs showed a marked seasonal pattern of infection with E. melis, with infection occurring at significantly higher intensity and prevalence than in adults. There was preliminary evidence to suggest that infantile coccidiosis in badgers may be associated with impaired growth and increased mortality.

The mortality rates of badgers Meles meles were estimated, using data from a long-term capture–mark–recapture study of an undisturbed badger population in south-west England. Two life table methods were used: fusion and discounting. Badgers were allocated to a particular TB status for all or part of their lives according to their degree of infection with bovine tuberculosis Mycobacterium bovis. Separate life tables were created for animals with each TB status, and for males and females, and the estimated mortality rates were compared statistically. The progression of M. bovis infection, and the positions of M. bovis lesions were also analysed. The main findings are: (a) uninfected male badgers have a significantly higher mortality rate than uninfected females, (b) infected badgers which are not excreting M. bovis do not have a significantly higher mortality rate than uninfected badgers, (c) badgers which are excreting M. bovis have a much higher mortality rate than uninfected badgers, (d) male badgers appear to cope with M. bovis infection less well than females, and (e) there may be sex differences in the mode of spread of M. bovis in badgers.

This study investigates how habitat variation affects sett density, the number of animals per social group and group territory size in the badger (Meles meles). Identical methods were applied in three habitat types: lowland parkland with mixed woodland, pastoral farmland and upland rough pasture with moorland, representing areas of presumed good, medium and poor badger habitat, respectively. Contiguous main setts were identified and bait-marking was used to estimate territory size. Group size was estimated by direct enumeration. Variation in sett density, group size and territory size supported the hypothesis that badger group and territory size are influenced by habitat type. This was further supported by analyses of data from other studies in the British Isles. The implications for badger spatial ecology, badger survey techniques and the badger's role in the epidemiology of TB are discussed.

A total of 263 individual badgers Meles meles provided 718 blood samples which were screened for parasites. This revealed that 77.2% of individuals tested positive for Babesia missirolii at least once over 3 years, whereas 7.7% did so for Trypanosoma pestanai. However, the prevalence was highest in younger age classes, except in 1990 when it was high in most categories. There was some evidence that following a positive test for Babesia badgers were more likely to be caught again in subsequent years when compared to individuals testing negative. For Trypanosoma, although prevalence decreased from a peak of 29.2% from June onwards in 1990, we found no significant corollaries of infection. These results are discussed in the light of inter-annual variation in weather and other factors.