What happens when the habitat requirements, the daily activities, indeed the very existence of a charismatic and much beloved animal is perceived to be detrimental to the continued proliferation of an economically valuable one? Well, if the perception in question is that of England’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the valuable […]
When it comes to iconic British animals, four immediately spring to mind – my mind, at least – the fox, the hedgehog, the dormouse, and the badger. The first of these is, most regrettably, the subject of scorn and the target of hunters, the next two are unrestrainedly beloved, but the last is a bit of a conundrum, being both legally protected and at the same time the subject of a government-directed extermination campaign.