THREE men were caught digging at a badger sett that had been disused for years, a court heard.
Dr Barry Peachy told Barnsley magistrates when he examined the area eight months after the men were arrested he could tell it had been long-abandoned.
Dr Peachy was appearing as an expert witness for the defence in the case of three Barnsley men acc
used of interfering with a badger sett.
Darrell Harper, aged 38, of Wellington Crescent, Worsbrough, Anthony Fisher, 31, of Monksprings, Worsbrough and Kenneth Hume, 54, of Park Road, Grimethorpe, deny the charge.
They were arrested while digging in an embankment riddled with holes on farmland between Wombwell and Worsbrough.
Dr Peachy said when he inspected the area he saw no signs of foraging, feeding or digging by badgers or their dung or hair. He added: "There were a lot of signs of foxes using the holes and fox hairs were found but it was long-term-disused by badgers, there were no signs of use when I was there and ordinarily it is plainly obvious. There was an arable field that would have been ideal for feeding nearby but no signs of badgers at all.
"A hair was found in the entrance but it is of no relevance, there have been badgers all over that area and it could have come from anywhere.
"At some time in the past it may have been a main sett but it was degraded and had been disused for some years."
The three accused were arrested after a swoop by police acting on a tip-off.
The trio, who had two Patterdale terriers tethered nearby, told police a third dog had gone down one of the holes after a rabbit.
It eventually emerged wearing a locater collar - an electronic device used to track animals underground.
The site was said to have been recorded as a badger sett by South Yorkshire Badger Group since at least 1996.
The trial continues.
