On Badgers

In Europe farmers slaughter badgers as carriers of  T B
That they spread the disease to cattle but who knows maybe
The cattle infect badgers with T B as it has not been proved either way
But the poor badgers with their lives for the T B must pay

A little about badgers i can claim to know
In the place where into manhood from a boy i did grow
I often did see badgers in the fields at twilight
Back in those days they were not an uncommon sight

The badger a gray average dog sized creature with a white stripe on the face
In it's underground sett the previous night's bedding does replace
Mostly of dry grass before venturing out for the night
To search for food in the fields near their setts till the break of daylight

The badger for the biggest dog is a formidable foe
John Clare in his great poem badger many decades ago
Described of the cruelty to a badger by humans displayed
In a poem from the memory never for to fade

But some humans on animals like inflicting pain
From the suffering of poor creatures pleasure they seem to gain
And in some parts of Europe due to T B sad to say
Badgers are gassed in their underground setts hidden from light of day.