The Badger and Habitat Survey of Ireland 1989 - 1995

This GIS dataset holds records from the Badger and Habitat Survey of Ireland 1989 - 1995. The survey was carried out on behalf of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Agriculture. In total, 729 1km squares were assessed for badger setts and by habitat composition, with surveys undertaken mainly by Conservation Rangers of the National Parks & Wildlife Service. In order to obtain results on an all-Ireland basis the survey was extended to Northern Ireland. The survey in the North was carried out between 1990 and 1993 by researchers from the Department of Biology and Biochemistry Queen's University of Belfast with close co-operation between researchers in the North and in the Republic. This project's principal aims have been to assess the overall numbers of badgers in Ireland and to provide a base-line for assessment of any future changes in badger numbers, to identify regional variations in density, to evaluate the extent of illegal digging or disturbance of setts and to relate badger density to the distribution and type of habitats present in an area. The overall value of the study has been to provide basic information on badgers in Ireland and to create a framework for preliminary and further examination of badgers and habitats in relation to the TB problem in cattle.