I thought it was really important to blog this asap. We’ve just had a dog stuck in a badger sett. Terriers particularly are known to nip down the odd hole to see what they can find. Fortunately this episode ended 12 hours later when he came out of his own accord. It’s really important to know what to do in the event…
Current advice from Natural England is to wait 48 hours to see if the animal comes out of it’s own accord. You can also shout down the hole, this needs to be done by one person (preferably the owner), down one hole for about 15 minutes, and listen for barks or sounds . Otherwise the dog will be unable to distinguish where the sound is coming from. Setts can be a warren of tunnels, above, below and crossing each other, and soil absorbs sound. It’s also important not to start digging in panic, tunnels can collapse both on the dog and any badgers inside. It is impossible to know where they run from above ground. And importantly, digging into a badger sett without a licence is illegal. Contact your local badger group or Natural England as soon as possible for help and advice. By far the majority of dogs come out of their own accord (probably when everyone’s back is turned…) so try not to panic.
Frightening though it may be, the best thing to do for all concerned is to wait.
Or better still, take great care with small dogs near badger setts, especially rescue dogs as the history may have predisposed them to running down holes at high speed!!