Badgers threaten Stonehenge burial sites

STONEHENGE (Reuters) - Determined digging by badgers living near Stonehenge's 5,000-year old circle of megaliths is damaging ancient archaeological artefacts and human remains.


The shy nocturnal animals are burrowing into pre-historic burial mounds on Salisbury Plain.


Their excavations have already disturbed some of the thousands of human remains and rare artefacts buried a few feet beneath the surface of the Plain on which Stonehenge -- a world heritage site -- sits.


The danger posed by the badgers' homebuilding has become so serious that the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which owns much of the land in the area, is trying to coax them away to less historically sensitive places.


"We have already moved badgers from two monuments located just north of Stonehenge," Ian Barnes, one of four archaeologists employed by the Ministry of Defence told Reuters.


Barnes said Neolithic long barrows, burial mounds that date back to 3,500 BC, are most vulnerable to attack, with about half of the 20 sites showing signs of badger activity. Long barrows are elongated, roughly rectangular structures that can be over 100 feet in length and several feet high.


EASY WORK FOR KEEN DIGGERS


The characteristic chalk and soft earth of the area is easy work for badgers, who are proficient diggers. The creatures, which have a distinctive black and white stripped head, often have more than one underground home, or sett.


Barnes said some monuments will have to be given up to the badgers because the damage they have caused is already too extensive.


There has been talk of culling the animals but English Heritage, the government's advisor on Britain's historic environment which looks after Stonehenge, said it was not an option.


"Culling badgers has not been considered by English Heritage and is not our policy." an English Heritage spokeswoman said.


"We have recently begun work on a project to assess in more detail the impact of the badgers on Salisbury Plain archaeological sites.


"We will be continuing to work on this project over the course of the summer of 2004 and hope the results will help us understand more about the nature of badger damage so we can protect England's archaeology as effectively as possible for future generations."


Barnes said the most effective way of moving badgers has been shutting them out of their homes. "A mesh link fence is built around the sett when the badgers are out."


The process costs thousands of pounds because each site has to be examined for archaeology before barriers are put up.


Badger groups agree the animals can be moved successfully and are working with the MoD and English Heritage.


"Where there are badgers causing problems they can be humanely excluded," said Elaine King, chief executive of the National Federation of Badger Groups.


"Badgers can be successfully relocated, but it is important to understand their territorial behaviour."


NOT EVERYONE'S FURRY FRIEND


Not everyone is so keen on the badger, which has been protected by law since 1992.


Farmers are worried that badgers are behind a rise in bovine tuberculosis because they carry the disease. The National Farmer's Union believes more research is needed to investigate possible links.


"There is no concrete proof that badgers are responsible, but given that badgers are carriers their role needs to be examined more closely," said an NFU spokeswoman.


"We are hearing a lot of reports from farmers saying they are seeing a lot more badgers".


Grey-coated adult badgers, which can be nearly a metre in length, have no natural enemies in Britain and posses powerful jaws capable of giving nasty bites. The biggest killer of adult badgers is road traffic.