Four badgers found shot dead in woodland

2 hours ago

Maisie LillywhiteGloucestershire

The bodies of the badgers were discovered in close proximity to one another

Getty Images A close up of the face and neck of a European badger, which is grey with a white and black striped face. — The bodies of the badgers were discovered in close proximity to one another

The bodies of four badgers that had been shot were found in woodland, police have said.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said that on 21 March it was alerted to the discovery of three dead badgers at Buckland Wood on the Gloucestershire-Worcestershire border, near Broadway.

The Badger Trust and Gloucestershire Badger Group also contacted police to report a fourth badger which was found dead nearby, and officers believe this animal was also shot.

Anyone with any information about the incidents has been asked to contact police.

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The first three badgers, discovered on the footpath on the north side of Buckland Wood, are believed to have been shot days before they were found.

PC Parker from Gloucestershire Constabulary's Rural Crime Team said: "Badgers are protected by law and it is a criminal offence to intentionally capture, kill or injure a badger.

"This incident has understandably caused upset for the wildlife community and we want to do all we can to identify those responsible."

Craig Fellowes MBE, wildlife crime manager and trainer for the Badger Trust, said badgers continue to face persecution in the UK, "despite clear laws prohibiting their shooting unless licensed".