‘It’s just beyond cruel!’ How volunteers are helping police in their fight against ‘sick’ badger baiting in Lincolnshire

“It’s one of the worst things I’ve seen in my 21 years as a police officer,” said DC Aaron Flint, Lincolnshire Police’s wildlife officer.

“It’s just beyond cruel. It’s awful.”

Badger baiting has long been a problem within the county, but the force has struggled to truly know the scale of the crimes carried out carried out within its borders.

But it is hoped that will soon change.

Lincolnshire Police is beginning to build a picture of the twisted crimes inflicted upon these creatures in their battle against the barbaric bloodsport, thanks to the work of a growing number of volunteers.

Badger baiters send terriers dogs down setts to hold the creatures at bay while holes are dug and the badgers are dragged out.

Once out the animals are either set upon by the dogs or, in some instances, sold to illegal betting rings.

“I think it’s more about the cruelty. There may be a bit of betting you see like with hare coursing, but mostly its about people going out and inflicting pain and suffering on an animal,” DC Flint explained.

“Badgers can fight. They don’t want to, but if they’re put in a corner they will. So it’s a challenge for them.”

Strong jaws and sharp claws make badgers formidable opponents for dogs, but in these fights all the animals can suffer for the pleasure of the onlooker.

“If the badger starts to win the baiter will give it a whack with the spade or break a leg so the dogs can get back on top of it,” DC Flint said.

“The badger’s killed, but the dogs also pick up horrendous injuries that aren’t then treated by vets. Vets will know the type of injuries sustained from badger baiting and they’ll report it to the police.

“So they (baiters) often try to treat the dogs themselves, which makes it even worse as they’re not getting them what they need and the dogs suffer from horrendous infections.”

While police have been making huge strides in combating hare coursing, the scale of badger baiting within this large, predominantly rural county is still unknown to police.

But thanks to volunteers, the force is now able to begin building a picture of offences.

“It’s a problem, not just in the county but all over the country. But we have got an issue with it here,” added DC Flint, himself a keen badger watcher.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know the scale of the issue because most counties have well established badger groups, these are the people who go out and survey sets and keep an eye on badgers.

“Lincolnshire hasn’t had one until recently. We have now, but it’s in its infancy.

“We’re hoping from now on, into the future, now that we have a badger group, we might start to get a picture of what the problem looks like in Lincolnshire. But at the moment we just don’t know.

“We have got a problem, but the scale is unknown. But as we learn about what the problem is and where it is then we can target it better.

“I do think it is a positive step forward with the badger groups.”

Members of the public can also do their bit to help the police.

“Anything suspicious, I would suggest reporting it to us,” said DC Flint.

“Unfortunately, badgers aren’t the best at crossing the road, but if you see something obvious, like you’ve been to a sett and a hole’s been dug or there are dead badgers around, report that to us.

“Again, if you see a dead badger in the middle of a field with no clear signs of why it’s diesd it’s something we need to look into.”

Altough dealing with all sorts of wildlife crime - from hare coursing to the illegal selling of rare birds’ eggs - combating badger baiting is vital for DC Flint, who acts as chairman of the force’s countrywide badger crime priority delivery group.

“The job of that group is to identify where the problems are and then find ways of tackling them,” he explained.

“Nationally we’ve identified the top 10% of badger baiters across the country and we’re in process of targeting them individually, like we would an organised crime group, not just for badgers but any crime they commit.

“Hopefully, they will go to prison and the problem of badger baiting should be reduced.”

Indeed, the people who carry out these crimes are of great interest to police due to regularly being involved with other types of crime.

“Badger baiters and hare coursers, we often find when we stop and arrest them and look at their previous convictions, it can be offences such as murders, rapes, serious offences,” DC Flint said

“These are people who go out and kill badgers and inflict cruelty on animals. These are the people who go out on a Saturday night and bottle somebody, these are the people who go home and beat their wives and kids up.

“They just enjoy watching people suffer and it’s a very sick thing to do.”