A West Lothian woman says her life is being made a misery by a 20-strong sett of badgers that has invaded her garden and attacked her.
Jennifer McCrae said the badgers have destroyed her garden and left her with nasty injuries to her foot when she tried to stop one from attacking her nine-year-old daughter.
Jennifer, who lives at Marina Road in Boghall, said she has been plagued by the animals for about a year after neighbours started feeding them.
She said she is at her wits’ end because nobody will help as the animals are an endangered species.
She told The Courier: “I have been attacked twice. The first time it was charging at my daughter but I pushed her into the house out of the way and it then attacked me.
“They have ripped up part of my fence and decking and destroyed my garden.
“They are vicious and they aren’t small. They’re about the size of a Staffordshire bull terrier and vicious.
“When I tried to get help from the SSPCA and told them I had been attacked, I admitted I had kicked on of the badgers to get it away they were more concerned that it was ok than me.”
Jennifer said she has contacted West Lothian Council and the Scottish SPCA but has been told nothing can be done about the animals as they are endangered.
She also contacted Bathgate councillor Harry Cartmill, who has taken up her fight to have the animals relocated elsewhere.
Harry said: “The dreadful and very unusual issue with the badgers attacking Jennifer is something I’ve been trying to help with for quite some time .
“I’ve sent numerous communications to our Bathgate Housing Management Team and to Senior Environmental Health Officers within the council as well as an initial message to the SSPCA some time back.
“As a former country park ranger myself, I am very familiar with the life cycle of badgers. Indeed I used to lead badger walks with school groups etc at Beecraigs where I worked in the 80s and 90s.
“The badgers residing there were never in any way aggressive towards anyone so the behaviours displayed by the badgers adjacent to Marina Road Boghall is in my experience both unusual and very concerning.
“I’ve suggested a solution which would solve the problem once and for all - and humanely - which would be for the badgers to be trapped and released in a suitable location where they could establish a new habitat far from Boghall.
“This sadly hasn’t been taken up. In the short term I’ve urged West Lothian Council departments to work together in educating local people in the Marina Road area through leaflet drops etc stating clearly that the feeding of these badgers must cease with the hope that more natural behaviours will ensue and the badgers will be less keen to visit suburban gardens.”
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent, Mike Flynn, said he appreciates the situation is very stressful for the people affected, especially since the badgers are behaving in an aggressive manner.
He said however: “As badgers are a protected species, a special licence is required to relocate them. As an animal welfare charity, we only attend to injured, distressed, orphaned or sick animals and do not have the powers required to transfer these badgers to a new area.
“We would recommend contacting Scottish Natural Heritage to see if they can help, or the local environmental health authority to see if there is any case from an environmental health point of view.
“In the meantime we would also suggest carrying out some humane pest control measures, such as fortifying any entrances the badgers are using to gain access to the garden, securing dustbins and making sure there is no dropped fruit or food from bird feeders on the ground. As long as nothing is done that will harm the badgers, these are all steps that could be taken to discourage them from visiting the property.
“We would also advise that members of the public do not approach badgers they find on their property as they can become aggressive if they feel scared or threatened.”
A West Lothian Council spokesperson added: “Environmental Health staff visited the area in January 2020 and offered advice to a number of local residents, around discouraging deliberate badger feeding and ensuring that food was not available in their gardens that could attract wild animals, such as badgers.
“Extra food left out on the ground for the birds, for example, can attract a number of wild animals including rats, so should be discouraged.
“Badgers are wild animals with protected status, so it is not possible for us to relocate them.”
