Right now, as badger baiting season reaches its peak, organised criminal gangs across the UK are carrying out acts of extreme animal torture. Despite being illegal for nearly 200 years, more than 10,000 badgers are still brutally killed every year. These protected animals are hunted, mutilated, and torn apart for entertainment by people who know exactly how to avoid being caught.
Badger baiting begins underground. Trained dogs are forced deep into badger setts, where terrified badgers are cornered in the dark. Hunters dig them out by hand, ripping apart their homes and dragging them into the open. Dogs latch onto faces, throats, and limbs, shaking violently as badgers fight desperately for their lives. This cruelty peaks between November and March, when pregnant females and nursing mothers instinctively defend their young — making them targets for longer, bloodier attacks.
In underground baiting pits, badgers are thrown into makeshift arenas and attacked by as many as 15 dogs while crowds cheer and place bets. Some badgers have their jaws smashed, legs broken, or teeth ripped out to stop them fighting back and to prolong the agony. Dogs are slashed open by claws, then crudely stitched together without pain relief or antibiotics. Those too badly injured are shot or tied up and left to die.
Sign now to demand the maximum penalties for anyone found guilty of badger baiting, tougher enforcement of existing laws, and urgent funding for undercover investigations to dismantle these criminal gangs. Without decisive action, the killing will continue night after night throughout this season and thousands more badgers will suffer agonising deaths.
👇 Sign now to stand against badger baiting and demand justice for animals.
By providing your email address, you agree that Animal Welfare Investigations Project may contact you by email about our work and ways to support us. You can unsubscribe at any time.
