The sick and illegal so-called 'sport' sees the animals pitted against dogs in a fight to the death.
Setts at Ashington, Parham near Pulborough and Thakeham have all been dug and the animals captured.
The digs are being investigated by the police and the RSPCA.
Paul Skinner of the Mid Sussex Badger Protection Group said the Ashington dig was seen by members of the public, including dog walkers, but they did not realise what was happening and failed to raise the alarm.
He said the horrific sport was on the increase in the area and was urging local residents to report any suspicious activities they witness.
"Badgers are Britain's best loved mammal and both the animals and their setts are protected by law," he said.
"It is illegal to injure or take a badger or to dig into or disturb their setts. A conviction can carry a fine of several thousand pounds."
Mr Skinner said the culprits used small terriers to locate the badgers underground, using a tracking device to follow the dog's progress.
When the badger was cornered they dug down towards the dog and captured their prey.
"At this time of year it is likely that a female badger will have dependent cubs," he said.
"She is reputed to defend her young with a ferocity that makes the grisly spectacle even more appealing to the perpetrators.
"A dead cub was found at a sett near Thakeham after the diggers had left."
He said the badger could be killed at the site or taken away for further torture.
Badgers have lived in Britain for at least 250,000 years and surveys show there are a quarter of a million in the UK today.
They live in groups of up to 14 adults and live in a maze of tunnels and chambers. The main sett is occupied all year round and some are thought to be 100 years old.
Mr Skinner said in Ashington all the setts used by one group of badgers were attacked during broad daylight, when the nocturnal creatures were underground.
He said the misconception that illegal digging was carried out in the dead of night often allowed the real culprits to carry on unchallenged even though a dig could take hours.
"Several individuals have been involved with the actual digging and the group includes women and children," he said.
"If questioned about what they were doing they implied that they either had the landowners' permission or that they were the landowners. This is totally false."
He said large amounts of soil were sometimes excavated before the diggers reached the dog. The terrier bites the badger and locks on, allowing the diggers to pull the dog out by its back legs and the badger with it.
The animal is then taken away for badger baiting. It is set against dogs with bets placed on how long it will last and because badgers are tough, they are often disabled to reduce their ability to injure the dogs.
RSPCA spokesman Klare Kennett said: "This is an extremely cruel so-called sport.
"It causes immense suffering not only to the badgers, who are ripped to pieces, but to the dogs as well.
"It's an illegal activity and the people who take part don't tend to take their dogs to the vets when they are injured because they may face prosecution.
"Instead they deal with the injuries themselves in woefully inadequate ways."
Steyning-based Inspector Mark Piper of Sussex Police confirmed the reports of badger digging in the area.
He said: "We have been working closely with the RSPCA and the Mid Sussex Badger Group in our investigation of the recent badger digging.
"We do not want to disclose at the moment what's going on, but action will be taken in the near future.
"We are particularly interested in sightings of a green Land Rover which we believe has been involved with the digs."