Bid to halt badgers from digging up city cemetery
THE macabre sight of badgers digging up bones at a Birmingham cemetery could finally be solved after months of distress for families.
The nocturnal mammals first began wreaking havoc at Yardley Cemetery last summer, causing significant damage to the 64-acre site, leaving some graves caving in and some visible bones on the surface.
The issue prompted a barrage of complaints from families whose loved ones are buried in the graveyard.
But as badgers are listed as a protected species, Birmingham City Council was forced to hold off on taking action until the animals had finished mating.
Gillian Evans, whose mother, father and brother are all buried at the cemetery, said the badgers’ destruction had caused “heartbreak” to her family.
“Last year, our family grave was dug out by these animals,” said Mrs Evans, from Acocks Green. “I had to get some strong wire netting and three bags of stones to stop them digging up the grave.
“I was informed at the time that a licence to get them removed had been declined and that another
would be submitted at a later date.”
She added: “My family and I find this most distressing; every time we visit the grave there seems to be more and more destruction being done by the badgers. I am in absolute distress about this as I do not want to be visiting the grave and finding remains being unearthed.
“This situation needs some urgent attention before any more damage and heartbreak is suffered.”
Nine months later, after gaining the necessary licence, the council
has erected fencing around the active setts and installed one-way badger gates which allow the animals to leave the area but not return.
Councillor Roger Harmer, for Acocks Green, said: “Hopefully this encourages the badgers to move elsewhere – even on to the edge of the cemetery. Anywhere is fine as long as they are not digging up people’s graves. It has been pretty distressing for those residents who have got relatives buried there.
“To see the ground around their graves being dug up might not affect a huge number of people, but for the people it has affected, it’s a big issue.
“The badgers have been causing annoyance for a long time.
“Because badgers are a protected species, you can only intervene when they are not breeding and don’t have young there and the council has had to apply for a licence from Natural England to do anything.
“Now we have that, the council will have to act quickly before we get back into another breeding season which will put everything on hold for another six months.”
An email sent by the city council at the end of October reads: “The city council has been working with an ecologist and has now initiated several actions to improve the situation.
“As and when 21 days elapse and there is no evidence of further badger activity the setts can be filled in.
“To supplement these works, there will follow the construction of special fencing along one perimeter of the site.
“This is the area where it is believed the badgers are migrating from so is a preventative measure.
“While there is no guarantee that this will succeed, active monitoring of the cemetery will help to assess how effective the action is and if further actions are necessary.”