Monte Creek Winery is supporting BC badger conservation! All badgers in BC are of the subspecies, Taxidea taxus jeffersonii, and BC is the only place in the world that these badgers live. Badgers, in general, may not be endangered, but ours are. There are less than 350 badgers left in BC, meaning the subspecies is red-listed and ranked S2, or imperilled, by BC’s Conservation Data Centre.
Dangers to Badgers
BC badger conservation is actually doing slightly better than it was a decade ago, when BC badgers were categorized as critically imperilled, but they still need help. Badgers face dangers such as illegal trapping, vehicle traffic, and habitat and food loss.
Highway badger mortality is a big problem in the Interior of British Columbia. Kamloops is actually right in the middle of prime badger territory. Because badgers travel over large areas, they are often forced to cross highways. This leads to a high mortality rate due to vehicular traffic, particularly during July and August, when badgers are most active, looking for mates.
Benefits of Badgers
Badgers are incredibly helpful to have on a farm or other large property area because they tend to eat pests like rodents and even gophers, which have been known to dig small burrows that impact livestock and farm equipment. Not to mention, badger burrows often become homes for species like cottontail rabbits and burrowing owls, so having badgers on your property increases biodiversity!
How We Are Helping
BC badger conservation is so important to us at Monte Creek Winery. They not only support biodiversity and sustainability, which is an issue near and dear to our hearts, but the stretch of highway outside of our winery between Lafarge and Pritchard is reportedly the worst in the province for badger mortality. Since we found out, we have been actively working towards reducing badger mortality rates by partnering with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure as well as the Manager of the Wildlife Program to make badger travel safer. We are also raising money for Badgers in BC, and we have also been working with the BC Wildlife Park to raise money to help them support and care for their resident badger, Bloom.
How You Can Help
If you are interested in supporting badgers, you’re in luck! We have a variety of fundraisers running for badgers for the entire month of July. Bloom, the badger, has painted two beautiful abstract paintings for us, and we are auctioning them off on our website to help support her. We are also selling postcards to further support Bloom and badger buttons to support Badgers in BC, a badger conservation group, in our Tasting Room. Finally, in the Tasting Room and via our website, we are providing our customers with the option to add a $1 donation onto their purchases at checkout for the entire month of July to help support BC badger conservation. Purchase a badge via our website here: https://montecreekwinery.com/product/donation-to-the-bc-badger-society
If you can’t donate then please help the badgers by slowing down and being mindful of badger and other wildlife crossings on highways while you’re travelling this summer. We- and the badgers- really appreciate it!