Hi RayPW
Welcome to the Forum, but sorry for the circumstances.
I would be inclined to agree with simbo65 if there are badgers around, not to feed the hogs. Although, having said that, often if badgers are resident in an area, hogs aren’t, so it’s just possible it was a badger just passing through for some reason i.e possible sett distubance. Can you find out if badgers are normally in the area?
I definitely wouldn’t feed where you have been or with that set-up. (Not sure exactly what you mean re. the plastic netting, but normally plastic netting and hogs don’t go too well together – they can get trapped in it.) But the badger will know where to come and if it found something interesting once, might stay around, even if if it was just passing. So unless you find out that badgers aren’t in the area and you are certain that the badger has moved on I wouldn’t feed. I don’t think hedgehogs are badgers favourite food, but I have heard that some foxes become specialist hog killers, and it may be that (similarly) you have found a badger with a taste for hedgehogs.
It seems unlikely, but it’s just possible it was after the nuts – less effort to get to than eating a hedgehog. Not a very nice topic but you may be able to see the remains if it ate the hedgehog. Although I wouldn’t trust a resident badger not to eat a hedgehog even if it did only eat the nuts one time.
Sorry, not a lot of help – but on balance probably best not to feed the hogs.
P.S. It may not be relevant in your circumstances (others might also read this) but hog food is fine – mealworms and peanuts not so much. Mealworms should only ever be fed very occasionally in very small amounts, if at all. Both nuts and mealworms best avoided in favour of hedgehog/cat/dog food.
