Badgers Again.

[Gameking]

Access Restricted

I have been saying for years that badgers should be treated the same as foxes or even put on GL .
Landowners could then choose their approach.
As soon as you mention a cull then you get the Guardian readers and CP wetting knickers.
Your average housewife is more interested in the price of fish than killing most things really but as soon as you talk about a cull of anything the internet and 'concerned folks' ( or perhaps attention seeking social media types !!!!) from the 4 corners of the world have their say

 

[NoIDeer]

Whilst preservationists like May and narcissists like Packham control the agenda proper conservation won't happen. We live in a man made world and have a responsibility to maintain a balance.

Well done to the Telegraph and a few others for sticking their heads above the parapet.

 

[Will the chippy]

Just have a season for them. Time to breed so there left alone and not to leave dependants. Something like aug to Jan then let the landowners decide if the population is too high.
The cull round here has been very successful in reducing tb and helping ground nesting birds, hares and hedgehogs etc but I fear for what it'll be like in the coming years.

 

[jammygunner]

Definitely in favour of badgers being culled due to the widespread damage they can cause to other wildlife especially in sensitive areas.

 

[Kalahari]

Here is the "free to air" version from the GWCT for those who are interested.

New research reveals badgers are major predators of red-listed waders - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

www.gwct.org.uk

David.

 

[Craigsaun]

Where is Packem & May when all the cattle are being slaughtered!!!! NO common sense these do gooders.

 

[GBR66]

We were in a badger cull zone and my neighbours son was the cull man. I think he shot 77 badgers over 18m across maybe 1000 acres, still plenty around but....his father's herd came out of TB measures last year for the first time in 16 years.

 

[nocturnaldave]

When I’m out at night Controlling the foxes I see a much larger number of badgers than foxes. I would like to see an authority given to farmers who have had a positive TB test in their herd given the option to control badger numbers on their farms.

 

[jb1]

Ive posted before on SD on this topic, the increase in numbers of ground nesting birds including Lapwings,and Skylarks has been extremely notable, also the increased numbers of Hares that was a rarity before the cull. We have also seen an increase in Roe where before it would be a once in a blue moon you would see a Roe on around 10k acres. Outbreaks BTB also decreased in over 6 dairy herds in the zones near me.

 

[Dunwaters]

Yes thats why i would look to see scat analysed - i have no doubt they do damage - in my opinion little compared to a fox - but science could show properly

Theres finally some recognition here that predators, including badgers, are having an impact on ground nesting birds. Curlew nests are being harvested and their eggs hatched and raised artificially for later release. 80% of monitored ground nests last year failed due to predation.
It was the cruelty inherent in traditional badger digging with terriers that got them protected.
Please don’t tell me that it didn’t involve cruelty, I saw for myself that what went on and it wasn’t pretty, not for the dogs, the badgers or the foxes. Frankly, we’re better off without it.
Get a licence, trap them or shoot them, it’s not that hard.

 

[BenBhoy]

Where is Packem & May when all the cattle are being slaughtered!!!! NO common sense these do gooders.

It wouldn't bother them anyways. They'd be happy to see no livestock farming at all.

 

[Heym SR20]

I like badgers. When I was a child growing up in the 70’s they, along with otters and birds of prey where mythical beasts.

They are now all thriving. But we do need a sensible approach to their management and where the populations are too high then appropriate reductions should happen.

I also like curlews, lapwings, grouse and all sorts of other birds and animals.

Unfortunately large scale agriculture and other forms of development such as draining the uplands to plant windmills has caused a massive decline in ground nesting birds. Ditto pollution in our rivers has knocked all the ecosystem of small bugs on which young fish feed. This has caused a massive decline in migratory Salmon etc.

Predators taking the last few nests, or the last few salmon are an easy target for blame. Whereas actually the real problem is major policies of land use management and stewardship.

 

[Dunwaters]

Where is Packem & May when all the cattle are being slaughtered!!!! NO common sense these do gooders.

The slaughter of TB reactors is government policy, it has nothing to do with either Packham or May.

 

[finnbear270]

It is exactly "The last few nests" in some areas that is the problem.

 

[nf-fuse]

I like badgers. When I was a child growing up in the 70’s they, along with otters and birds of prey where mythical beasts.

They are now all thriving. But we do need a sensible approach to their management and where the populations are too high then appropriate reductions should happen.

I also like curlews, lapwings, grouse and all sorts of other birds and animals.

Unfortunately large scale agriculture and other forms of development such as draining the uplands to plant windmills has caused a massive decline in ground nesting birds. Ditto pollution in our rivers has knocked all the ecosystem of small bugs on which young fish feed. This has caused a massive decline in migratory Salmon etc.

Predators taking the last few nests, or the last few salmon are an easy target for blame. Whereas actually the real problem is major policies of land use management and stewardship.

I wouldn't want it to be a question of like or dislike
You would want wildlife management to be a dispassionate look at what megs to be done.

 

[nf-fuse]

Needs to be done

 

[Ratel]

Theres finally some recognition here that predators, including badgers, are having an impact on ground nesting birds. Curlew nests are being harvested and their eggs hatched and raised artificially for later release. 80% of monitored ground nests last year failed due to predation.
It was the cruelty inherent in traditional badger digging with terriers that got them protected.
Please don’t tell me that it didn’t involve cruelty, I saw for myself that what went on and it wasn’t pretty, not for the dogs, the badgers or the foxes. Frankly, we’re better off without it.
Get a licence, trap them or shoot them, it’s not that hard.

Having lived across the water I agree that cruelty was involved. Digging with terriers then handing badger to others for baiting was common in County Wicklow.
However over here from early days to late teens I used to go out with a group of worthies badger digging. Ok sometimes the dogs would get bitten, or worse a clout with the Brocks front feet. The badger was always tailed and bagged to be released elsewhere, unless the farmer wanted it destroyed. Badgers were not rare nor over abundant but were dug or shot all over Britain. Why a ban on their control was instituted I will never understand.

 

[finnbear270]

Having lived across the water I agree that cruelty was involved. Digging with terriers then handing badger to others for baiting was common in County Wicklow.
However over here from early days to late teens I used to go out with a group of worthies badger digging. Ok sometimes the dogs would get bitten, or worse a clout with the Brocks front feet. The badger was always tailed and bagged to be released elsewhere, unless the farmer wanted it destroyed. Badgers were not rare nor over abundant but were dug or shot all over Britain. Why a ban on their control was instituted I will never understand.

Dachs can often be on the Quarry list on German hunts.

 

[old keeper]

Sixty years or so ago, I was working in Cornwall and got to know an old chap who did a lot of badger and fox digging. His arms were scarred from where he had pulled out both foxes and badgers. But the thing I remember most was his dogs.
Most had lips missing, some had ears that had gone or nearly gone. Badgers were no easy quarry, and the dogs took a hammering. Even after all that, they just couldn't wait to go to earth.

I don't hold with badger digging, but the typical knee-jerk reaction by the government to protect them completely was ridiculous. They should have just banned digging and baiting with severe consequences if caught, and treated badgers in the same way that foxes are.

 

[nf-fuse]

Having lived across the water I agree that cruelty was involved. Digging with terriers then handing badger to others for baiting was common in County Wicklow.
However over here from early days to late teens I used to go out with a group of worthies badger digging. Ok sometimes the dogs would get bitten, or worse a clout with the Brocks front feet. The badger was always tailed and bagged to be released elsewhere, unless the farmer wanted it destroyed. Badgers were not rare nor over abundant but were dug or shot all over Britain. Why a ban on their control was instituted I will never understand.

Because they're cute