Badgers are among the most common mammal road casualties in the UK, with tens of thousands killed annually on roads that bisect their traditional foraging territories.
Road strikes cause trauma injuries that are often not immediately fatal, leaving badgers to die in pain at the roadside or crawl to shelter. Injured badgers found by the public are often suffering from broken limbs, spinal injury or internal trauma. Mortality disrupts social group cohesion and may lead surviving group members to ranges with increased road exposure.