Badger dies after being found in Northampton field with snare wrapped around its face

A badger has died after being found in a Northampton field with a snare wrapped around its face.

A member of the public found the badger, which had the snare wrapped around its face, on Wednesday, February 1 in a field behind Glebe Lane in Great Houghton, however it ran off before they could help it. They contacted police.

Officers from the Rural Crime Team attended the location and found evidence of snares, however there was no sign of the injured animal, which was located on Saturday (February 4) by the Northamptonshire Badger Group.

Rural Crime Officer PC Chloe Gillies said: “The badger was still alive and suffering severely from having this snare wrapped around its mouth, it was rushed to the vets where sadly it could not be saved.

“It is an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to injure or kill a badger and the suffering that this poor animal went through was just horrific.

“We do not know where the badger was snared however, we believe it may have been in the woodland area between the Brackmills Industrial Estate and Great Houghton and we would ask anyone who may have seen a snare set or someone acting suspiciously near badger setts to please contact us.”

Witnesses or anyone who may have any information regarding this incident is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident number: 23000081935.