April 10, 2026, 01:00

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Wildlife

Burrowing badgers halt rail traffic in the Netherlands

Burrowing badgers are digging setts beneath Dutch railway embankments and bringing train traffic to a standstill. Authorities are struggling to relocate the protected animals.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 23 March 2023

7,000 badgers and too little space

In the densely populated Netherlands, there is little natural space for the approximately 7’000 badgers in the country. They frequently dig their setts beneath quiet railway embankments. Forty locations have recently been reported as potentially at risk.

Wrong time of year for intervention

«They waited too long. Their maternity period runs until July. It is simply the wrong time of year,» says Karin Derikx of the Badger Working Group. More on the topic of wildlife and species protection.

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