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Badgers Block British Broadband Buildout

Posted by Soulskill on from the badger-badger-badger dept.

twoheadedboy writes "When BT engineers set out to lay fiber broadband cables in remote areas in North Yorkshire, they didn't think they would have many issues. But they didn't see the badgers coming. They discovered badger setts along the planned route for a cable connecting 450 properties to the local exchange. As it is illegal to destroy or upset setts — badgers are considered an endangered species — BT has had to hold off putting down the fiber until it either gains permission from the National Trust or comes up with fresh plans."

12 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. Hah by Sparticus789 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Alliteration x5. Awesome!

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    sudo make me a sandwich
    1. Re:Hah by bobdehnhardt · · Score: 2

      Alliterative aspects augment awesome article attributes.

    2. Re:Hah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      [Taxidermist - Man who mounts animals]

      I knew a man once who mounted animals he definitely wasn't called a Taxidermist.

  2. Bollocks! by Megane · · Score: 2

    Bloody badgers. Blocking broadband bites.

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    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    1. Re:Bollocks! by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      Bleedin' bastards buggered the bunch, bitches.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Bollocks! by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      My fav has always been line from the exploding whale video where the announcer says "The blast blew blubber beyond all bounds of belief" -- that and watching people running from the falling chunks of whale is just awesome.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. Mushroom mushroom? by Nidi62 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just use snakes. Everyone knows badgers are afraid of snakes. Oooh-ooooh.

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    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  4. Endangered except... by TonyJohn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "badgers are considered an endangered species" except where it's been decided to kill lots of them.

    I won't comment except to say that it seems very inconsistent. J

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    Owl tried to think of something wise to say, but couldn't.
  5. Badger, badger, badger by stevegee58 · · Score: 2

    Mushroom

  6. UK badger cull about to start!? by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 2

    Something is wrong somewhere because yesterday in the Guardian there was an article about a UK government badger cull which starts tomorrow to stop the spread of bovine TB due to the large population of badgers. So you can't disturb their setts by digging but it is fine to send out teams of hunters to shoot them?

    1. Re:UK badger cull about to start!? by Stormthirst · · Score: 2

      And yet it has been demonstrated that badger culls don't stop the spread of TB into cattle. If anything, they make it worse.

  7. Re:Endangered, but... by Shimbo · · Score: 2

    Are they really endangered?

    No. However they are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. It's more to do with trying to prevent badger baiting than rarity.