A DEAD badger has been found ‘almost garrotted’, laying in a ditch in Colchester.

The North East Essex Badger Group has said they recovered the body of a young badger at Fordham on Thursday, March 16.

The creature was found with a homemade snare around its neck, with a group member describing the device as ‘almost garotting’ the creature.

The group believes that the badger would have been struggling for several days, desperately attempting to free itself from the device, before eventually dying of its injuries.

A similar event had occurred in a nearby field on February 25, when a member of the public reported finding a badger in a snare to the group.

The discover took a strange turn, when the badger disappeared. Two members of the group attended the spot where the body was reported, finding only a pool of blood and a snare, no badger.

Warning - the below image contains details some may find distressing

Judy Massie, section leader for the Colchester branch of North East Essex Badger Group has described the situation as an "act of pure malice".

She said: “We are very angry and horrified that anybody could be so inhumane and cruel.

“There’s no reason for someone to do this, these animals are not doing any damage whatsoever, this was an open space with no livestock.

“This is an act of pure malice, there was no reason for this to happen

“It was so cruel that it was unbelievable, the badger would have been in that snare for quite a while.

“It didn’t die until the snare got too tight , it would’ve struggled for a couple of days at least.

“Judging by the state of its neck, the poor badger would have been there for a few days. It definitely suffered a horrible and lingering death.

“Snares are normally set overnight so it should’ve been checked first thing in the morning, that would’ve avoided this happening.

 “This badger had struggled with its back legs to free itself, the snare had loosened and frayed. I have no idea why someone would do this.”

It is illegal to use any snares for species protected under Section 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and this includes badgers. 

The North East Essex Badger Group operates across Colchester and Harwich, their emergency number is 07751 572175