Hunt saboteurs have reported Jeremy Clarkson to police over allegations he filled in badger setts at Diddly Squat Farm, but the TV presenter turned farmer has denied this, claiming he shot all the animals instead.
The former Top Gear presenter turned Amazon Prime Video darling was visited by Thames Valley police officers after activists from the Cotswold Hunt Sabs reported blockaded settlements on his land near Chadlington, Oxfordshire.
Under British wildlife law it is illegal to damage, destroy, block or disturb badger setts; Hunting saboteurs claim to have found hideouts blocked with rocks in the area of Diddly Squat, so named because Clarkson claims he makes so much money from it.
In his Sun column earlier this month, Clarkson said he told the police who came to see him that he had no reason to fill in the box – because he had shot all the badgers instead, apparently under license.
The Grand Tour presenter – last seen in the Grand Tour special Sand Job – wrote: ‘Luckily I had the perfect excuse though: “I’ve shot all the badgers on the farm so why would I want to fill in their nests ? “And yes, before you ask, it was all legal.”
Jeremy Clarkson was seen discussing the badger problems on his farm in an episode of Clarkson’s Farm
Badgers and their nests are protected under UK wildlife law, but culls can be carried out under special permits to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis
The Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs claimed to have found evidence of badger setts being filled in on Clarkson’s land – there is no suggestion that Clarkson himself filled in the holes
The Hunt Saboteurs Association criticized Clarkson’s comments in his Sun column, claiming: ‘It’s a bit sad how desperate he is to be liked by his farmer friends’
Hunting saboteurs claimed to have found filled-in settlements on the land of Diddly Squat Farm (photo: the entrance to the farm shop near Chadlington, Oxfordshire)
Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm has documented the presenter’s attempts to get his farming business off the ground, helped by veteran farmer Kaleb Cooper (pictured)
Activist Lynn Sawyer, of the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, said activists targeted Clarkson because he had previously allowed fox hunting on his land. However, there is no indication that Clarkson himself filled in the vowels.
She said the Telegraph: ‘He may not have known it was done. We’re not attacking Clarkson. Instead we try to protect badgers from persecution and death. We do not discriminate.’
She added that hunting may deliberately block badger setts to eliminate escape routes for foxes. However, this is a criminal offense because it can catch badgers.
Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, it is also illegal to send dogs to shelters. But under certain circumstances, landowners can apply for permits to interfere with badger skins or clear them altogether.
The Badger Trust says badgers could be culled to limit the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cows; but a permit must be obtained and applies only to the country for which the permit is sought.
It says 143,241 badgers were killed under government-issued cull permits between 2013 and 2020. Clarkson did not elaborate on the circumstances in which he killed the badgers; His representatives have been contacted for further comment.
He said inside his Sun column of filling in badger setts: ‘That is a serious criminal offense that can result in high fines and long prison sentences. And if it got out that I was involved in something like that, I would be a social outcast.”
The Hunt Saboteurs Association criticized Clarkson’s comments in his Sun column, claiming: ‘It’s a bit sad how desperate he is to be liked by his farmer friends.’
The creatures made an unwanted appearance in the second series of Clarkson’s Farm, which aired on Amazon Prime in February last year and devoted an entire episode to the black and white furry beasts.
In one scene he was told that his cows 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 program and accused 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 fill in badger setts as he had already shot the animals (photo: 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 casually informed that this would be illegal.
Referring to his camera crew in a scene discussing ties, he joked: “Because I have so much, I can’t… quietly break the law.”
His comments were criticized by the Badger Trust, which accused him of making ‘bizarre, ill-informed and dangerous’ comments about the animals.
Peter Hambly, executive director of the charity, said last year: ‘Spreading anti-badger propaganda without reference to the facts is dishonest, 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 has previously seen the local Boxing Day hunt on his land, but called the hunt “pompous” and once joked, “What I thought would be fun is to invite the hunt and the antis for a year and to see them fighting a huge battle.’
Diddly Squat has become an unlikely tourist destination after the veteran motoring journalist’s efforts to get it off the ground were adapted for TV by Amazon.
Clarkson’s Farm was well received by critics and farmers alike for its honest portrayal of agricultural work.
The show doesn’t shy away from the toil and long hours that come with field work, and Clarkson’s exasperation with the bureaucracy that burdens modern agriculture.