When I was a child, I was told that hunters used to put things like twigs in their boots, so the European badger would let go, when they heard the "leg break".

Though I doubted it even then.

Dammit is this how we got the Lion & Wardrobe and such?

You've missed out the Scottish snow badger. Like the regular European badger but about a third larger and completely white to blend into their (now disappearing) snowy highland habitats.
They are the sole reason hard plastic shell ski boots were invented after it was found that snow badgers have no problem biting through the old leather ski boots we used to use.
They hibernate through the summer months and only come out to hunt during the winter so it's very hard to get a photo of them.