26 JANUARY 1929, Page 17

THE KEW BADGER.

The presence of a badger—and. foxes—in Richmond Park recalls the last appearance of a badger in Kew—in the summer of 1914. I have received a full account of its history from one of the captors. The authorities there were troubled' by the destruction of wild fowl by the last of the badgers, and arrangements were, therefore, made for its capture. A party of specialists arrived at 2 a.m., located the badger (close to Queen's Cottage) at 6 a.m. and captured him three hours later. He was put into a sack and on the same day set at large in Sussex. R was a pity to exile the animal ; but it is true, as one of his captors states, that in a confined space such as Keit such an animal is apt to lose its natural instincts and ", take to bad habits." In Richmond, of course, there is room and to spare for foxes, badgers, deer, or even such great and strange animals as roam Woburn Park.

* * * *