Dachs Vaucluse

The badger prefers structurally rich deciduous and mixed forests in the lowlands and hill country, ideally with loose soils in which it can dig its sett. A badger sett is a far-reaching system of tunnels and chambers up to thirty metres across and several metres deep, used and continuously extended over many generations by the family group known in German as the Sippe. Badgers also inhabit the transitions between woodland and open farmland, hedgerows, copses and, increasingly, areas close to human settlement.

A crepuscular and nocturnal omnivore, the badger lives socially in multi-generation family clans. Its diet centres on earthworms as a key staple and includes insects, mice, eggs, young game, fallen fruit, berries, maize and roots. In autumn it lays down a thick layer of fat and then enters winter rest, which, unlike true hibernation, is repeatedly interrupted by short excursions on milder days. The classic hunting methods across the DACH region are stand hunting at the sett and at established trails during the summer and early autumn months, complemented by trapping with suitable live-capture box traps. Den hunting at the natural sett is viewed critically in many regions and is restricted or banned in several German federal states and Swiss cantons, which is why artificial setts are commonly used instead.

Badger numbers have recovered strongly after the historic decline caused by the gassing of fox setts during rabies control, and the species is now widespread and not considered threatened across most of central Europe. Road traffic remains a significant cause of mortality. An ethical harvest depends on a confident visual identification, sparing sows with dependent cubs and respecting the long closed seasons that the badger has traditionally been granted in hunting practice.