Badger-proof feeder stops contact with cattle

Using a badger-proof feeder in the field has proven an effective measure to prevent badgers from accessing mineral licks and blocks.

Trials carried out by the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) at Manor Hill Farm, Harnhill, tested Rumenco’s Badger Beater feeder alongside conventional ground level mineral bucket. The feeder is 1m high – the Defra-recommended badger-proof feeding height.

Each bucket was baited with peanuts and badger interaction was filmed using infra-red camera over the course of 73 nights.

Results demonstrated badgers were unable to access the Badger Beater.

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Rhiannon Naylor, lecturer in Rural Land Use and Management at RAU, said: “Biosecurity at grazing is particularly difficult, but this measure provides farmers with an additional tool to minimise the contact between badgers and cattle.”