Badgers set for Major Rebuild

The "Berlin Wall" of Purbeck?

The pending construction of a wall to isolate an expanding badger sett from an adjacent country lane has caused controversy and brought protests from local sett designers, coupled with emotional references to the long demolished Iron Curtain.

The Council's work on the controversial first phase, that of the demolition of part of a road bank in rural Purbeck, started this morning.


"A black and white issue"

Main spokesperson for the protesters, the so-called "Pied Badger" (or "P.B."), insisted:
"This is very much a black and white issue. The Council's decision is disastrous and threatens to drive our more militant members underground. We and our sets are entitled to invoke the Badgers Protection Act. In fact we are appealing." [see NOTE 1 below]

A badger disguised as a dachshund [see NOTE 2 below] so as to conceal his identity commented:
"It is known that every badger hams it up a little, but PB takes the biscuit every time. Let's face it, he is a bore. And any talk of an underground movement is pure fantasy."


Nature notes:

1 - A badger (meles meles) is a nocturnal animal, expert at tunneling and particularly adept at ploughing up his neighbours' lawns in search of worms. Badgers are considered appealing as a result of the "Badger Watch" features on BBC TV.

2 - A dachshund, or badger dog (from the German) was once used for hunting badgers. It has in recent years discovered that life as a cute household pet is preferable to being sent down holes for a living.