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<\/p>\nA golf course owner has been forced to take drastic action to protect its greens from damage by badgers searching for food during the drought.<\/p>\n
Susan Moore, owner of Clare Park Lake Golf Course in Clare, Suffolk, said the animals had left parts of the course “churned up and like a ploughed field”.<\/p>\n
She has started rolling netting over the course once play has finished and has also taken to playing a radio overnight and using flashing lights to deter the stripey saboteurs.<\/p>\n
“You’ve got to come out with your head torch, roll out your nets, then get up in the morning and roll them back up again,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Moore said the badgers had left parts of the course looking like “a ploughed field” [Clare Park Lake Golf Course]<\/p>\n
Moore said the damage first appeared on Wednesday night, when a badger had appeared to rip up the grass and had tried to dig a hole.<\/p>\n
Repairing the greens means replacing material and reseeding the grass, which can then need watering two or three times a day.<\/p>\n
More from Suffolk:<\/p>\n
She believes badgers are being drawn to the watered greens because the softer soil makes finding food such as worms easier.<\/p>\n
“Whilst we like to distract them, or deter them, from messing things up a bit for us, we have to respect the fact that they live here too,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Renee Hockley-Byam warned that netting need to be checked regularly to ensure wildlife was safe [STEPHEN HUNTLEY\/BBC]<\/p>\n
Renee Hockley-Byam, chairman of North East Essex Badger Group explained that dry, hard ground had made it “impossible” for badgers to find food.<\/p>\n
She said badgers could “smell damp earth from a mile off”, which was why they were attracted to places still able to use hosepipes, such as golf courses, and urged people to leave water out for them where possible.<\/p>\n
Regarding netting, she warned: “All rescuers will have encountered animals caught up in netting, which can lead to appalling injuries with the blood supply being cut off.”<\/p>\n
However, she said she had discussed the issue with the golf club and was happy with its plans to support badgers away from the greens.<\/p>\n
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