A Cornish farmer found himself forced to break the law after a calf fell neck deep into a badger sett.
Jim Candy, who is also a Liberal Democrat member of Cornwall Council, said he realised the action could land him in trouble with both the police and the RSPCA.
However, he said the welfare of the cattle on Trerieve, his organic farm near Looe, must come first.
"I knew something was wrong when I heard the cow calling for her calf before I even got to the field," he said.
"After a short search, I found the week old calf wedged firmly in the badger hole.
"He was well and truly stuck and we had to dig him out.
"I know it is illegal to interfere with a badger set, but felt that my first duty was to the calf."
Mr Candy said despite fears the calf might have dislocated its hind legs, it emerged with just a few scratches from its ordeal.
But he said the case highlighted inconsistencies with existing laws that farmers had to deal with on a daily basis.
"The law covering this was brought in in 1973 to stop badger baiting, and quite rightly so," he said.
"But there are these unfortunate consequences which have occurred as the badger population has exploded and we have a situation where the badgers are becoming a pest for more reasons that TB."
"I like to encourage wildlife but the increase in badger numbers worries me. We haven't seen a hedgehog on the farm for decades, we have sky larks which nest on the ground and of course there is always the increased risk of going down with TB again."
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said yesterday that the matter had not been brought to his attention.
"The only thing I can say is that there has been no report made to the control room."
A spokesman for the RSPCA said: "We do appreciate the fact that this farmer was trying to rescue his calf and has been open and honest about the situation.
"We do encourage people not to disturb badger setts whenever possible."
