The creation of badger4peace began with a pun and a picture: a black-and-white badger named Smudge wearing a CND badge — sitting firm curled-up against the storm. From this image grew a campaign that combines peace activism, protest art, and a growing archive of badges & postcards from around the world.
Smudge the badger is both an animal and an advocate—digging for truth, standing for peace, and collecting badges of resistance along the way. We don’t just wear badges and post postcards. We badger for peace.
Badges have long been small but powerful symbols of protest. From Aldermaston to Greenham, anti-nuclear marches to anti-apartheid vigils, they’ve been worn on coats, hats, and bags—signs of belief, identity, and solidarity.
Badgers, meanwhile, are quiet and determined. They live in communities, defend their setts, and know how to persist. The pun between “badger” and “badge” captured the spirit of what we were doing—and from that, Badger for Peace was born: a mascot, a message, and a growing archive of peace history.
We believe even the smallest symbol—a badge, a drawing, a pawprint—can carry a powerful message.
Whether you’re a collector, peace activist, artist, or just someone who loves the environment and woodland creatures, you’re very welcome here. Share your collection, tell us your stories, or follow along as we explore the past to inspire a more peaceful future.
Wear a badge — post a postcard — be a badger — badger4peace.