You are quite right to be cautious. Section 1 of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 states it is an offence to kill, injure or take a badger. This protection is extended also to the sett making it illegal to damage, destroy or obstruct its access, or allow a dog to enter or disturb it. Current penalties include a fine of &amp;£5000 per badger or sett involved, or a six-month prison sentence. <p></p><p> This is a major headache for developers. It is the developer&amp;’s responsibility to show that the planning permission can be implemented without causing harm to badgers. So you need to identify early on whether there are existing setts and this in itself can be problematic. Setts are occupied sporadically and the survey will have to be conducted over a period of time. It may be possible to incorporate the setts into the development - for example, in any open space provision - or to obtain licences to interfere with the setts under the Act. These are normally granted by English Nature, specifically for the implementation of a planning permission. There is no appeal against refusal to issue a licence, so it is important to get expert nature …