badgers

This article does nothing more than expose some double dealing in the way we deal with badgers and shows just how powerful the farming lobby has become.

It gives me pause for thought, although there is clearly no direct linkage, on the decision to guarantee Pillar 1 payments (direct farm payments) but not Pillar 2 (environmental protection and economic development payments) pending the Autumn statement . The story tells us:

Badgers are wreaking havoc in a medieval churchyard by digging up centuries-old graves and unearthing human bones, but locals are effectively powerless to stop them.

The animals have clawed up huge mounds of earth in the grounds of the 13th century All Saints Church.

A number of graves have been disturbed in the process, leaving human remains – including a skull – strewn above the soil.

One local even found the remains of a child just 80ft (25m) from the entrance to a pre-school creche.

“You think badgers are nice… but when you start seeing bones and you see signs of some of the bones being gnawed, it starts making you feel really sick”

But parishioners living near All Saints, in Loughborough, Leicestershire, have been warned there is little they can do – because badgers are a protected species.

It is illegal to kill badgers or destroy a sett, with those breaking the law facing prison sentences of up to six months or an unlimited fine.