Devon Badger Group's events for National Badger week

National Badger Week is organised by the Badger Trust and will take place from June 25th-2nd July.

As well as a celebration of the Badger it will also focus on a number of issues that affect badgers in their daily lives.

The Badger is an iconic species that has been in our landscape for many years and although rarely seen this mysterious creature remains one of the most popular mammals in the UK today.

National Badger Week will see numerous events across the country aimed at drawing attention to the badger, its ecology and behaviour, and how we must do more to protect the species from the many threats it faces in our countryside and towns and cities.

National Badger Week will open with an event on Saturday 25th June at Lush in Oxford Circus in London, which will see the launch of new children's book the "Ones Who Walk Above" written by Ben Kaye and illustrated by Stuart Jones and a debate on the need for greater badger protection involving the CEO of the Badger Trust Dominic Dyer and the Shadow Environment Minister Kerry McCarthy MP.

Other major events through the week will include a badger watch with writer Patrick Barkham at Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire, a town hall debate on badger behaviour and protection in Stafford involving the Badger Trust, Born Free and the International Federation of Animal Welfare, and a Wildlife Festival in Exeter hosted by the Devon Badger Group.

National Badger Week will end with a family carnival march to celebrate the importance of badgers to our natural heritage in Stafford on Saturday 2 July.

Chris Packham, naturalist and television presenter, stated:

“Sadly but necessarily the Badger has become a conservation icon - it has been lured from its nocturnal secrecy and thrust into the limelight. But this is no bad thing because we can now all see it for what it truly is . . . a creature which plays an essential part in the ecology of the U.K. landscape and enjoys huge popularity."

Mike Dilger, ecologist, ornithologist and television presenter added: "The only shame about National badger week is that it is only a week, as I’d personally give them at least a year. This iconic animal living in our midst needs to be celebrated rather than persecuted, and hopefully this week will give those who know badgers best the opportunity to put forward the case for them continuing as a much loved and integral part of our landscape. Certainly in the Dilger household, most weeks are badger weeks, as the inhabitants from our local sett make regular visits to relieve my garden of a few of its earthworms."

Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy MP said: I'm pleased to be attending the launch of the Badger Trust National Badger Week campaign in Lush Oxford Street London on the 25th June. Badgers are an important part of our heritage and have been a part of our landscape for many generations. The badger faces many threats including persecution, badger baiting and the ineffective and unscientific badger cull. It's time to celebrate the badger and join in with Badger Trust groups around the country to raise awareness of how the wonderful the badger is"

Dominic Dyer, CEO of the Badger Trust, adds: "Badgers are one of our most important native species that have survived in our landscapes despite the constant threat of persecution, destruction of their habitats and death on our roads. It is time we recognised their value and importance to our eco system and celebrated their strength, beauty and resilience in the face of the many threats they encounter every day”.

The National Badger Week website www.badger.org.uk is packed with events and ideas.