Wildlife Removal near you

Section 1 of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes it an offence, except as permitted by or under the Act, wilfully to kill, injure or take a badger. That is the part people expect. The part that catches homeowners and contractors is section 3, which makes it an offence to interfere with a badger sett by damaging it or any part of it, destroying it, obstructing access to or any entrance of it, causing a dog to enter it, or disturbing a badger while it is occupying a sett — where the person intends that interference or is reckless as to whether it occurs.

The practical reach of that is wide. Blocking a hole to see whether it gets reopened, digging out a bank at the end of a garden, running machinery over a sett, or letting a dog into one are all capable of being offences, and recklessness is enough. Groundworks, landscaping, drainage and fencing jobs are where this most often goes wrong, because nobody looked before the machine arrived.

Licences exist but they are not casual. Under section 10, licences may be granted by Natural England in England and by the Natural Resources Body for Wales in Wales for purposes including development, and in England a licence may also be granted for preserving public health or safety or for reasons of overriding public interest, a provision inserted with effect from 18 February 2026. There is a real test attached: Natural England or the Secretary of State must not grant a licence in England unless satisfied that there is no other satisfactory solution and that the grant is not detrimental to the survival of any badger population. A fee may be charged. If there is any chance a sett is involved, that question belongs at the start of a project, not at the end.

Government guidance on protecting property from foxes, moles and mink is worth reading before commissioning anything, because it draws lines that surprise people. For foxes it recommends prevention first — securing food waste and using fencing to protect pets and livestock. Where control is used, cage traps and free-running snares checked daily and shooting with suitable firearms are described as lawful methods, while gassing, poisoning, blocking occupied earths and hunting with dogs are not. Snares cannot be used near badger setts, in urban areas, or where weather prevents daily inspection, and must not allow an animal to become fully or partially suspended, entangled, drowned or strangled.

Relocation is addressed directly and rejected: the guidance states that transporting and relocating foxes to an unfamiliar environment will cause them stress. For moles, the guidance notes that October to April is the practical control period and that spring traps must be set at least 150mm underground and checked daily, and it states that no approved commercial repellents exist — a statement worth remembering next time a mole repellent is advertised.

Across all wildlife, the same guidance lists methods that cannot be used at all: self-locking snares, bows and crossbows, explosives other than legal ammunition for a licensed firearm, and live birds or animals used as decoys. Breaching those prohibitions carries up to six months' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Wildlife work is priced on survey time, access and the proofing that follows, and rarely on the animal itself. The variables are which species is involved and therefore which rules apply, how many visits are needed to establish the entry points and whether young are present, whether work has to wait for a breeding season to finish, how high and how awkward the proofing is, how much of the building fabric needs repair rather than sealing, whether a licence or specialist advice is required before anything can be done, and whether the attraction on the site can be removed at the same time.

LokalMatch handles the introduction only. Describe what you have seen once, with your postcode — the animal, where it is getting in and how long it has been there — and firms covering your area will contact you. Using it costs homeowners nothing, and the pros pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not carry out the work, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend anyone, so asking each firm how they identify the species and what they do if a badger sett or a bat roost turns up is worth doing before you commit.