YEOVIL NEWS: Cat owners beware – dangerous badger on the loose

CAT owners living on the Westfield estate in Yeovil are being warned about a badger who has been seen attacking a family pet and has also reported to have been "jumping out at" and “chasing” people in the street.

Claire Mallinson, speaking on social network Facebook tonight (Wednesday, February 10, 2016), said: “I’ve just seen a massive badger grab hold of a cat on Westfield Grove. The cat was screaming - then the badger ran into bushes with the cat and then silence.

“Cat owners beware – we found our kitten cowering down the side of the house scared out of its wits.”

But Claire said: “Nothing can be done because the Badgers Trust says it is just nature and it is illegal to kill a badger.

“I would just say to people to be on your guard and think about keeping your cats in at night.”

Claire said that a badger had jumped out at someone while walking near to the Co-op store in Stiby Road.

And somebody else has commented that a badger had chased them down an alleyway towards a play area on the Westfield estate.

A conversation on a Facebook page – Westfield Area Community – has led to people suggesting that the badger could attack more animals and even small children.

PHOTOS: Could a badger (not this one pictured above) be attacking cats on the Westfield estate in Yeovil?

Claire said: “That is my concern. The badger I saw was massive. There’s no way I could have broken its grip on a cat or anything else.”

It may seem, on the face of it, to be a rather over-the-top story about a marauding badger – but there are genuine concerns that something really serious could happen.

The concerns have been logged with South Somerset District Council and the Somerset Badger Trust.

Pauline Kidner, founder of wildlife charity Secret World based near Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset which has been looking after badgers for 25 years, has been quoted in the past as saying that the wild animals are “very shy and if they get the chance to run away they will.”

A spokesman for the Badgerland group, speaking on its website, said: “Badgers do not generally kill family pets like cats and dogs. Most cats and dogs will avoid a badger if they see one – while others may stand their ground before realising that it’s better to run away in defeat.

“Sadly, a very few pets do find themselves in situations where they are cornered and the badgers sees them as a threat to its cubs and they may be attacked and rarely killed.”

The spokesman added, however, that some badgers will kill smaller animals such as baby rabbits. “If you have a rabbit hutch on your lawn, the rabbit will be at risk if the badger can gain entry.”

Incidents of badgers attacking humans are very rare.

It is not the first time that badgers have hit the news in Yeovil. Avon and Somerset Police last summer reported – in a comical fashion - that a man had dialled 999 to complain he was being chased by a badger in the Yeovil area. The story made national news.

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