Hunt spoilers reported Jeremy Clarkson to the police over allegations he stuffed badgers at Diddly Squat Farm, but the TV presenter-turned-farmer has denied doing so, claiming he shot all the animals instead.
The former Top Gear presenter turned Amazon Prime Video favorite was visited by officers from Thames Valley Police after Cotswold Hunt Sabs activists reported setts were blocked on their land near Chadlington, Oxfordshire.
Under UK wildlife law, it is illegal to damage, destroy, block or disturb badger habitats; Hunting saboteurs claim to have found blinds blocked with rocks in the Diddly Squat area, so named because Clarkson claims that’s what he gains from it.
In his Sun column earlier this month, Clarkson said he told police who came to visit him that he had no reason to stuff the setts, because instead he shot all the badgers, apparently under licence.
The Grand Tour presenter, most recently seen on the Grand Tour’s Sand Job special, wrote: “Fortunately, however, I had the perfect excuse: ‘I’ve shot all the badgers on the farm, so why would I want to complete their scenarios? “And yes, before you ask, everything was legal.
Jeremy Clarkson was seen discussing badger problems on his farm in an episode of Clarkson’s Farm.
Badgers and their animals are protected under UK wildlife legislation, but culling can be carried out under a special license to reduce the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
Tri-county hunt saboteurs claimed to have found evidence of badger cobbles being completed on Clarkson lands; there is no suggestion that Clarkson himself completed the paving stones.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association criticized Clarkson’s comments in their Sun column, stating: “It’s a bit sad how desperate he is to please his farming friends.”
Hunt saboteurs claimed to have found filled cobbles on the grounds of Diddly Squat Farm (pictured: the entrance to the farm shop near Chadlington, Oxfordshire)
Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm has documented the host’s attempts to get his farming business off the ground, helped by veteran farmer Kaleb Cooper (pictured).
Activist Lynn Sawyer, of Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, said activists targeted Clarkson because he had previously allowed fox hunts to take place on his land. However, there is no suggestion that Clarkson himself completed the paving stones.
She said the Telegraph: ‘It is possible that he did not know it had been done. We’re not messing with Clarkson. Instead we try to protect the badgers from persecution and death. “We do not discriminate.”
He added that hunts may deliberately block badger settlements to eliminate foxes’ escape routes. However, doing so is a criminal offense because it can trap badgers.
Under the Badger Protection Act 1992, it is also illegal to send dogs onto the cobbles. But under certain circumstances landowners can apply for licenses to interfere with badger skins or to cull them entirely.
Badger Trust says badgers can be culled to reduce the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cows; but a license must be obtained and only applies to the land for which the license is sought.
It says 143,241 badgers were killed under government-issued cull licenses between 2013 and 2020. Clarkson has not given further details about the circumstances under which he killed the badgers; She has contacted his representatives for further comment.
said in his column of the sun of stuffing badgers: “This is a serious offense which can lead to large fines and long prison sentences. And if news leaked that I was involved in something like that, he would be a social outcast.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association criticized Clarkson’s comments in their Sun column, stating: “It’s a bit sad how desperate he is to please his farming friends.”
The creatures made an unwelcome appearance in the second series of Clarkson’s Farm, which aired on Amazon Prime in February last year and dedicated an entire episode to the furry black and white beasts.
In one scene, he told his cows that they were at risk of contracting tuberculosis due to the presence of badgers on the farm, one of which tested positive for the bacteria that causes the disease.
A scene from Clarkson’s farm. The Badger Trust has criticized the programme, accusing it of spreading “anti-badger propaganda”.
Diddly Squat Farm Shop has become an unlikely tourist destination on the outskirts of Chadlington
Clarkson claimed in his Sun column that he had no reason to complete the badger sets as he had already photographed the animals (pictured: a scene from Clarkson’s Farm).
He suggested that the animals could be shot, gassed, run over, or “hit on the head with a hammer,” only to be glibly informed that it would be illegal.
Alluding to his camera crew in a scene involving badgers, he joked: “Because I’ve got this whole group, I can’t… break the law quietly.”
His comments were criticized by the Badger Trust, which accused him of making “outlandish, ill-informed and dangerous” comments about animals.
Peter Hambly, chief executive of the charity, said last year: “Spreading propaganda against badgers without reference to the facts is unfair, dangerous and yet another attack on nature. It has to stop.’
Clarkson bought the farm in the Cotswolds in 2008 and later renamed it Diddly Squat.
He had previously watched the local Boxing Day hunt on his land, but called the hunts “pompous” and once joked: “What I thought would be fun is to invite the hunt and the antis one year and watch them have a massive battle.” .
Diddly Squat has become an unlikely tourist destination after Amazon adapted the veteran motoring journalist’s efforts to get it off the ground for television.
Clarkson’s Farm was well received by critics and farmers alike for its honest depiction of farm work.
The show has not shied away from the hard work and long hours associated with field work, and Clarkson’s exasperation with the bureaucracy that weighs down modern agriculture.