A NEW weapon that could help win the war against the crime of badger baiting
is being tested by police in Britain. By marking badgers with 鈥淪mart Water鈥�, an
invisible solution with a unique chemical fingerprint, police can link suspects
and their dogs to the crime. 鈥淭his means we can identify anyone who has come
into contact with a marked badger,鈥� says Steve Anderson, an inspector in the
West Midlands Police.
The invisible marker, developed by Smartwater Europe of Telford, Shropshire,
has already been successful in deterring other crimes. Shops known to be
protected by Smart Water sprays triggered by intruders have reported a huge drop
in attempted burglaries. The marker is also an effective way of stopping the
theft of easily carried laptop computers or works of art, which are almost
impossible to sell if they are marked. Now badgers will be similarly
safeguarded. 鈥淲e can identify which setts are vulnerable to diggers and provide
them with the same sort of protection,鈥� says Anderson.
Badger baiting, in which a badger is pitted against fighting dogs, has been
illegal throughout Britain since 1981. Since then the number of cases has
fallen, but hardened groups of baiters still operate in some areas, often
travelling a long way into the countryside from urban centres such as
Merseyside. Nearby setts are practically 鈥渄ug out鈥�, says Anderson. 鈥淎ccessible
setts are running out of badgers, so the diggers have to travel farther
补蹿颈别濒诲.鈥�
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Police have always found it difficult to convict baiters, who are seldom
caught with a badger. By the time officers reach a disturbed sett or baiting
venue, the gang and their dogs are usually long gone.
So Anderson asked Smartwater if its researchers could develop a marker that
would identify badgers and anyone who handled them. They came up with a polymer
emulsion that glows under ultraviolet light and includes tiny amounts of
chemical tracers. Each batch has a different 鈥渞ecipe鈥� that can be used to
identify a single sett.
The Forensic Science Service, which now makes the marker solutions under
licence, can analyse marked cloth or hair and identify which batch鈥攁nd
thus which sett鈥攖he marker came from. The badgers are not harmed by the
emulsion.
A suspect marked with a solution鈥攑articularly if it came from a sett
some way off鈥攚ould find it hard to explain away. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 apparent that
the badger came from some distance and there are signs of digging there, you can
make the link between the digging and the offence,鈥� says Anderson.
Badgers are not the first animals to benefit from such protection. Pheasants
and pre-Christmas turkeys thought to be at risk from rustlers, exotic
birds鈥攅ven valuable bonsai trees鈥攈ave all been marked in an attempt
to foil thieves.
鈥淲e have created a deterrent in the minds of criminals. They are aware of the
risks of Smart Water,鈥� says Phil Cleary, managing director of the company. 鈥淭he
message to baiters is: if you touch this badger we can prove it.鈥�