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.