Police probe over Oxford Business Park badger crime

The incident is believed to have taken place on a roundabout at Oxford Business Park, off Alec Issigonis Way, where landscaping works were carried out earlier last month.

The concern centres on whether the routine works may have interfered with an active badger sett, potentially putting any animals and their young at risk.

(Image: ANNETTEPYRAH / Getty)

Badgers and their setts are protected under law, making it an offence to damage, destroy or obstruct access to an active sett.

An anonymous eyewitness said they initially found what they believed to be an active sett or earth on the roundabout, pointing to paw prints as evidence of recent use.

They said that when they returned the following day, an apparent attempt had been made to fill in the entrance.

Badger sett on an Oxfordshire business park (Image: Anonymous)

On a later visit, they claimed the area had been deliberately flooded, leaving the ground sodden and what remained of the sett filled with water.

They described the alleged incident as “illegal, inhumane and reckless behaviour”, adding the “poor creatures may have been drowned”.

Badger sett allegedly filled in (Image: Anonymous)

However, the campus has strongly denied any wrongdoing saying they “take wildlife and environmental matters extremely seriously”.

It said routine landscape maintenance works, including the removal of shrub vegetation, had been carried out in preparation of the area being turfed.

It said: “These types of maintenance activities do not require planning permission or ecological surveys, however the landscaping teams always carry out visual inspections to ensure best practice for wildlife management is maintained and in this instance, there was no evidence of a badger sett.”

They added that all construction projects on the campus are supported by ecological assessments carried out by qualified consultants and that “recent assessments have found no evidence of badger setts or badger activity on the campus or in the vicinity of the roundabout”.

The spokesperson said it remains committed to protecting local wildlife in line with relevant legislation, adding that the concerns raised had been reviewed.

Should any evidence emerge of a protected species being present, the campus said it would seek specialist ecological advice and take appropriate action.

Linda Ward, secretary and trustee of Oxfordshire Badger Group, said she was grateful to the member of the public who first reported the potential wildlife crime.

She said: “We hope the police will investigate as a matter of urgency to confirm that no animals have been harmed. We ask everyone to monitor their local badger setts and report any concerns without delay.”

Thames Valley Police is investigating the report but no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the force on 101 quoting reference 43260301923.