LONDON — In an era where the boundaries between concrete jungles and natural habitats blur increasingly day by day, a single, perfectly timed frame has captured the global imagination. British photographer Ian Wood has won the prestigious tenth edition of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award for 2024. His winning image, titled “No Access,” portrays an ambling Eurasian badger pausing under the glow of a streetlamp in St Leonards-on-Sea, England, glancing upward at familiar local graffiti.
Selected from a fiercely competitive shortlist of 25 images, Wood’s photograph captured the hearts of nature enthusiasts worldwide, drawing from a record-shattering voting pool of over 76,000 participants. The announcement highlights not only the triumph of exceptional wildlife photography but also serves as a poignant canvas for pressing conservation debates in the United Kingdom.
Main Facts: The Triumph of “No Access”
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, developed and produced annually by the Natural History Museum in London, stands as one of the most revered platforms for nature photography on earth. The People’s Choice Award offers a unique democratic voice to the public, allowing global audiences to champion the photograph that resonates most deeply with them.
Ian Wood’s “No Access” emerged as the definitive fan favorite for its stark juxtaposition of raw nature against an unmistakably urban backdrop. Illuminated solely by the harsh, amber glow of a municipal lamppost, the solitary badger ambles along a pavement flanked by a graffiti-laden brick wall. The creature’s momentary, curious gaze toward the paintwork creates a narrative bridge between human disruption and wild resilience.
The image was chosen from a rigorous initial selection process. Out of nearly 60,000 global submissions entered into the landmark 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, an international panel of expert judges originally curated a shortlist of 25 images. From there, the public cast a record-breaking 76,000-plus votes to crown Wood’s work the winner, alongside four highly commended finalists.
Chronology: Behind the Lens in St Leonards-on-Sea
To capture a fleeting moment of urban wildlife behavior requires immense patience, ecological understanding, and meticulous timing. The story behind “No Access” began long before Wood ever set up his camera gear.
In the coastal town of St Leonards-on-Sea, local residents had established a habit of leaving food scraps on pavements to feed urban foxes. However, the abundant provisions did not go unnoticed by other nocturnal foragers. Wood observed that Eurasian badgers from a nearby sett were increasingly venturing out of their traditional rural domains to scavenge alongside the foxes in built-up areas.
Having spotted a badger routinely padding down the pavement alongside a specific wall late at night, Wood recognized a singular photographic opportunity. He engineered a discreet, small hide positioned strategically on the edge of the road, minimizing any potential disturbance to the animal.
Waiting under the cover of darkness, relying exclusively on ambient lamplight to cut through the shadows, Wood executed the shot precisely as the badger looked up. The resulting frame encapsulates a quiet, hidden world that unfolds just feet from human doorsteps after the rest of the world has gone to sleep.
Supporting Data: The 2024 Finalists and Exhibition Details
While “No Access” claimed the ultimate crown, the 2024 People’s Choice competition celebrated four other extraordinary finalists, each designated as “Highly Commended.” These images span the globe, capturing the raw power, ethereal beauty, and brutal realities of the natural world:
- “Earth and Sky” by Francisco Negroni (Chile): An arresting nighttime capture showcasing a double lenticular cloud brilliantly illuminated from below by rivers of glowing lava streaming from the active Villarrica volcano.
- “Edge of Night” by Jess Findlay: An atmospheric, high-action shot depicting a ghostly barn owl bursting through the weathered hayloft window of a derelict barn as it sets out on its nocturnal hunt.
- “Whiteout” by Michel d’Oultremont (Belgium): A minimalist yet striking portrait of a stoat sitting upright to survey its snowy territory, blending effortlessly into a pristine, white winter landscape.
- “Spiked” by David Northall: A visceral and dramatic scene illustrating a bloodied yet resolute honey badger returning unflinchingly to finish a confrontation with a Cape porcupine, which had earlier deployed its formidable quills in self-defense.
All five of these celebrated images are currently on display for the public. They can be viewed online via the Natural History Museum’s digital platforms and are featured on interactive voting screens within the museum’s flagship exhibition in London, which runs through June 29, 2025.
Official Responses: Celebrating Urban Wildlife and Connection
The significance of Wood’s victory was underscored by leaders of the scientific and conservation community. Dr. Douglas Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, praised the winning image for its capacity to spark reflection on human-wildlife dynamics.
"Ian’s flawlessly timed image offers a unique glimpse of nature’s interaction with the human world, underscoring the importance of understanding urban wildlife," Dr. Gurr stated. "His exceptional photograph serves as a powerful reminder that local nature and wildlife, often just outside our homes, can inspire and captivate us."
For his part, Ian Wood expressed profound gratitude for the global response to his work, while simultaneously using his platform to address uncomfortable truths about the state of Britain’s wildlife.
"The outpouring of badger love since my photo was nominated for the People’s Choice Award has been beautifully overwhelming. Finding out that it has won is truly humbling," Wood shared. However, he quickly pivoted to a more urgent message: "There is a darker side to this image."
Implications: The Badger Cull and the Future of British Ecosystems
Beyond its aesthetic brilliance, Wood’s photograph acts as a Trojan horse for a contentious and deeply serious conservation debate in the United Kingdom.
Wood, who resides in rural Dorset where he actively engages in rewilding initiatives to restore depleted local habitats, noted that the urban presence of badgers is not merely a charming quirk of modern city life—it is a warning sign of rural displacement.
Central to his concerns is the ongoing, highly controversial badger cull in England, authorized by the government as a measure to control bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle. Conservationists and animal welfare organizations have long argued that the cull is scientifically flawed, cruel, and environmentally destructive, pointing out that it has drastically decimated badger populations across the British countryside.
“I live in rural Dorset where I’m on a re-wilding mission to enhance habitats for a huge array of wildlife,” Wood explained. “The badger cull – which is still ongoing – has decimated their numbers, and I fear that unless the cull is stopped, we’ll only see badgers in urban settings in several parts of England.”
By bringing the plight of the Eurasian badger into the spotlight of a globally renowned institution like the Natural History Museum, Wood hopes to leverage his award-winning image as a catalyst for policy change. “My hope is for this image to raise awareness of the damaging effect of the badger cull and help push for change,” he emphasized.
Looking Forward: The 61st Competition
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition continues to serve its core mission: utilizing photography’s unique emotional power to forge deep connections between humanity and the natural world, turning casual observers into passionate planetary advocates.
While the chapter on the 2024 awards draws to a close with the exhibition running until June 2025, the cycle of nature documentation never stops. Entries for the upcoming sixty-first competition are currently undergoing evaluation by a new international panel of expert judges. The winners of the 2025 competition will be officially announced at an awards ceremony hosted at the Natural History Museum in London in October 2025, where a new generation of images will once again challenge, inspire, and remind humanity of what is at stake.
