A Badger's sett is home;

Made of earth and stone;

A den of chambers, round;

Tucked up in the ground.

A place to sleep and breed;

A place to call their own;

A place out in the wild;

In woods and open ground.

Badgers live in clans;

Boars and cubs and sows;

Badgers love to clean;

House-proud omnivores.

Foragers extraordinaire;

Earth worms, delicious fare;

Sharpening claws, at will,

For digging deep and far.

Iconic stripes and fur;

Ears tipped in white;

Small black eyes, bright;

A friend to hedgehogs.

Unfairly blamed for disease;

Habitats lessened, squeezed;

Out from their birthplace;

Culling a callous disgrace.

Badgers are protected;

The Protection of Badgers Act;

Persecution is a crime;

A blessing in our time.

Go out and find a sett;

Be quite, be still and wait;

You may be blessed;

To see a Badger in the Wild.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf