help with badger sett

[gkm]

We are currently looking to buy a house that has some old badger setts at the end of the garden where it backs onto a small woodland. When the house was first built 13 years ago the sett was apparently occupied and a protection order was placed on half of the garden. According to neighbours who have been living nextdoor for the 13 years, the badgers who occupied the sett were killed on a local road 7 years ago and the sett has apparently been unoccupied since then. The current owners have in the meantime established a flower bed in front of the setts as well as planting a natural hedge allowing natural brambles and weeds to grow around the sett. They have also established the lawn to grow to the border of the flowerbed.
My question is does anybody know how long the protection order lasts for and if still in operation, will that mean the garden would have to destroyed?
Any help and advice is much appreciated.
Thank you

[paulthomas]

Check with your local council. Although about 30% of all Badgers are killed on the roads I think it's unlikely that the whole clan died that way. Badgers do sometimes move setts. The woodland where I do most of my Badger watching has a number of abandoned setts of significant size plus many single-holed "outlier" setts. Occasionally these setts are temporarily re-inhabited; probably by young males who have just been evicted from the main sett.

[gkm]

Thanks for your help Paul. It was apparently a mother and two cubs , who had been inhabiting the sett that were found on the main road.
I think you are right.I will check with the council regarding the protection order. Thanks for your help