Badger setts are legally protected in the UK, and understanding the law helps members of the public and developers protect badger welfare and avoid criminal liability.
Badger sett disturbance causes welfare harms ranging from sleep disruption during torpor to destruction of long-established social groups and natal territories. Badgers are philopatric — strongly attached to their home sett system — and translocation or forced abandonment of setts causes significant behavioral stress. Badger baiting involves severe violence against protected animals in the context of organized crime, causing extreme welfare harm. The legal protections for badger setts reflect the recognition that badger welfare requires systematic protection from human activities that would otherwise routinely disturb and harm these animals.