Dedicated wildlife volunteers rescue sick badger from ditch near West Sussex village

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) said they found the poorly creature at the bottom of a ditch at lunch time on Wednesday, September 13.

WRAS members Trevor Weeks MBE (founder and operations director) and Brian Downing managed to rescue the badger using a dog grasper and blankets.

Trevor said: “You have to be very careful when handling badgers as they can look unresponsive until you touch them and then suddenly come to life. The location was also awkward being about three to four feet below the ground surface and with steep sides to the ditch.”

He said the rescuers placed a cage close to the animal in case it became lively and then used a dog grasper around the badger’s neck to keep it under control.

Trevor said: “Badgers are so strong and tough that it can be difficult to scruff them, but luckily this one didn’t put up any fight and we were able to lift him up into the cage with the help of the blanket and get him into a cage.”

They then put the animal into a veterinary ambulance and drove it to East Sussex WRAS’s Casualty Centre at Whitesmith near Lewes where the charity’s vets examined it. Trevor said that the vets did not find any injuries but he said the female badger was weak, cold and dehydrated. He added that the animal started to improve after initial treatment with warmed intravenous fluids and medication but said it is ‘not out of the woods yet’.

Trevor said: “It is a bit of a mystery as to what has happened and why. X-rays have been taken and don’t show any fractures or other problems, but our vets are keeping a close eye on her. This is one of the difficult issues we face when treating wildlife, as they can’t tell us what happened or where it hurts. Unlike pets, wildlife don’t have owners to take them to the vets or who can give the history of what has happened. This makes our job much harder as a result.”

Further tests are being carried out on the badger and WRAS staff and volunteers hope she recovers.