The badger sett near Esch should be excavated sooner rather than later. That is the striking position of the Das en Boom Foundation. Because there are badgers under the track, no trains will run from Eindhoven to Den Bosch until Monday. Ecologist Bert Heese of Das en Boom believes that trains should run again as soon as possible. “It is very important that badgers are protected, but the social interest comes first.”
There are probably four to six badgers in the castle near Esch, ecologist Hesse suspects. “Badgers are territorial animals, they often live in small groups. They were probably chased away from another place. New construction projects put many badgers under pressure.”
ProRail already knew that there was a badger sett near Esch and had already started a procedure for restoration. In recent days it appeared that the badgers had become much more active. Due to the many digging, the safety of the railway has been compromised. “Badgers always get more active this time of year,” says Hesse. The animals are still in their maternity period, which runs from December 1 to June 1.
“Waiting is not an option.”
“But waiting until June 1 is not an option. Not even waiting for days. We will excavate it in a controlled manner as soon as there is an exemption. We then run the risk of a badger dying. But 1500 badgers die in traffic every year. We really have to look at the social interest,” said the conservationist.
A badger sett was also recently found under the railway in Friesland. Rail traffic will be suspended there until the end of April. An attempt is made to lure the badgers to an artificial castle that is not under the railway. “That’s not an option in Esch. Something like that takes a long time. There are eight trains per hour between Eindhoven and Den Bosch. Those badgers have to get out of there.”
“Then we release the badgers in a protected nature reserve.”
The badgers that emerge during the excavation of the castle in Esch will be anesthetized by a veterinarian. “We then release them to another location in Brabant, in a protected nature reserve.”
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) must grant an exemption to be able to catch and move the badgers near the railway. It is unclear whether and when that permission will come.
ProRail director John Voppen already announced on Tuesday that he thinks that an exemption process takes much too long: “I have noticed that we have to stop train traffic for the second time in a week because badgers undermine the railway track. And that it then takes a lot of time to because we need to get permission. In the interest of travelers and carriers, we really need more room to take action more quickly. We are in urgent consultation with the ministry about this.”
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