Badger probe: Two arrested

The arrests followed investigations into badger setts being dug up at Ashington, Parham and Thakeham and the animals being taken away by the group of diggers.

It is thought the group included women and children.

Both arrested men, a man in his 30s and a teenage male, have been bailed to appear before Crawley magistrates on July 17.

The RSPCA was involved in raids which led to the arrests. Three terrier-type dogs and a cockerel were seized from a house in the Penne Retreate area of Ashington and a Saluki cross-bred was taken from a Washington property.

The illegal "sport" of badger baiting sees the animals being pitted against dogs in a fight to the death.

Paul Skinner, of the Mid Sussex Badger Protection Group, said the Ashington dig was seen by members of the public, including dog walkers, but they did not realise what was happening and they failed to raise the alarm.

Mr Skinner said the horrific sport was on the increase in the area and he urged local residents to report any suspicious activities they witnessed.

"Badgers are Britain's best-loved mammal and both the animals and their setts are protected by law," he said.

"It is illegal to injure or take a badger or to dig into or disturb their setts. A conviction can carry a fine of several thousand pounds."

Mr Skinner said the culprits used small terriers to locate the badgers underground, using a tracking device to follow the dogs' progress.

When the badger was cornered, they dug down towards the dog and captured their prey.

"At this time of the year, it is likely that a female badger will have dependent cubs," he continued. "She is reputed to defend her young with a ferocity that makes the grisly spectacle even more appealing to the perpetrators.

"A dead cub was found at a sett near Thakeham after the diggers had left."

He said the misconception that illegal digging was carried out in the dead of night often allowed the real culprits to carry on unchallenged, even though a dig could take hours.

"Several individuals have been involved with the actual digging and the group includes women and children," he said.

After the animal was taken away for badger baiting, it was set against dogs with bets placed on how long it would last. And because badgers were tough, they were often disabled to reduce their ability to injure the dogs.

RSPCA spokeswoman Klare Kennett said: "This is an extremely cruel so-called sport. It causes immense suffering not only to the badgers, who are ripped to pieces, but to the dogs as well.

"The people who take part don't tend to take their dogs to the vets when they are injured because they may face prosecution. Instead, they deal with the injuries themselves in woefully inadequate ways."

Klare Kennett said the dogs rescued in the raids were now in care receiving veterinary treatment and, hopefully, they would be found good homes in the future.

Police Inspector Mark Piper, based at Steyning, said his force was looking for a green J-registered Land Rover which had been spotted near sites where setts had been dug up.