Badger cull

[twoseventy]

Good morning all,

Appreciate this is a potentially contentious issue, but if one were to want to get involved with the local badger cull in the Hants/ Berks/ Wilts/ Oxon area, how would one go about it?

 

[WH308]

I’d imagine you are a few years too late now.

 

[Eric the Red]

Two routes: Speak to your local farmers and have them introduce you. Second, contact the NFU - either the local office, or the TB reduction unit based I think in Taunton or Exeter. You will be contacted if they need additional contractors.

 

[Dave_45]

The above post is the best advice.

You probably are well aware ,but just to remind you, in certain cases , cullers have had death threats against them and indeed their young families from antis who posted their address in village halls etc.
It happened to a good friend of mine in Cornwall/Devon.

 

[old keeper]

The whole badger cull thing was complete nonsense!

The idea was excellent, we had our cull and removed pretty well the expected 70% that must have been going on for three years ago now. The results were as expected, a significant drop in Btb, and everything as it should be. However, three years later the population is exploding once more and I suspect in another two years we will be back to where we started from. A great deal of effort by many people at considerable expense showed the system worked, but looking back we wasted our time and a lot of people's money.

Why on earth they don't go back to what it was many years ago when those who wanted them gone could deal with the matter and those who had no problem left them alone? The incidence of Btb was low and it wasn't until the ill-thought-out Badger Protection Act came into force that the disease started to get out of control. Again, it's been a case of those who know little about the countryside making decisions that generally seem to be utterly wrong.

However, perhaps a Labour government will see things differently !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jall55]

The whole badger cull thing was complete nonsense!

The idea was excellent, we had our cull and removed pretty well the expected 70% that must have been going on for three years ago now. The results were as expected, a significant drop in Btb, and everything as it should be. However, three years later the population is exploding once more and I suspect in another two years we will be back to where we started from. A great deal of effort by many people at considerable expense showed the system worked, but looking back we wasted our time and a lot of people's money.

Why on earth they don't go back to what it was many years ago when those who wanted them gone could deal with the matter and those who had no problem left them alone? The incidence of Btb was low and it wasn't until the ill-thought-out Badger Protection Act came into force that the disease started to get out of control. Again, it's been a case of those who know little about the countryside making decisions that generally seem to be utterly wrong.

However, perhaps a Labour government will see things differently !!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly this !

 

[jall55]

Apart from Labour !

 

[75]

Your best bet is to get someone local who's involved with the cull to put you in touch with the regional NFU coordinator. If they need any additional resources then you'll need to do the assessment (I think they run about this time of year, around here certainly) and then you will be allocated an area.

It's worth noting though that current policy is no new areas / licenses will be granted unless there are significant bTB hotspots / outbreaks so it's more than likely that your local area is already covered for resources.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

@old keeper I couldn't agree more. Simple solution,put them on the quarry list, those who want them dealt with will go about it.
Even better,no costs to taxpayer whatsoever,no government interference,no anti's putting private details on internet for harassment.
Chances of this happening are remote though I think

 

[Dickie]

The first rule of Badger cull is don't mention Badger cull.

 

[twoseventy]

Two routes: Speak to your local farmers and have them introduce you. Second, contact the NFU - either the local office, or the TB reduction unit based I think in Taunton or Exeter. You will be contacted if they need additional contractors.

Thank you!.

 

[25 Sharps]

Since Carrie Johnson was in number 10 there will be no new licences and supplementary licences were cut short.

If you haven’t taken part in a cull you cannot take part in a supplementary cull.

So, post #2 is correct.

 

[Heym SR20]

Badgers, Foxes, Birds of Prey and even crows etc are all fantastic creatures that deserve our respect and to have a place on our little island.

However they need to be kept in balance, and controlled and managed as required. I am not convinced the old ways of just having them on the quarry list works - it needs to be a bit more scientific. Instead have an cull target and a continuous licence type system. So Badgers for example can be kept at low numbers as appropriate around cattle and ground nesting birds.

Badgers and Foxes in particular have big litters and thus populations can quickly bounce back.

 

[Jelen]

Badgers, Foxes, Birds of Prey and even crows etc are all fantastic creatures that deserve our respect and to have a place on our little island.

However they need to be kept in balance, and controlled and managed as required. I am not convinced the old ways of just having them on the quarry list works - it needs to be a bit more scientific. Instead have an cull target and a continuous licence type system. So Badgers for example can be kept at low numbers as appropriate around cattle and ground nesting birds.

Badgers and Foxes in particular have big litters and thus populations can quickly bounce back.

it would have to be an open licence, or else by the time you applied for, and maybe got granted a licence, it would be too late.

 

[Daisymay]

The whole badger cull thing was complete nonsense!

The idea was excellent, we had our cull and removed pretty well the expected 70% that must have been going on for three years ago now. The results were as expected, a significant drop in Btb, and everything as it should be. However, three years later the population is exploding once more and I suspect in another two years we will be back to where we started from. A great deal of effort by many people at considerable expense showed the system worked, but looking back we wasted our time and a lot of people's money.

Why on earth they don't go back to what it was many years ago when those who wanted them gone could deal with the matter and those who had no problem left them alone? The incidence of Btb was low and it wasn't until the ill-thought-out Badger Protection Act came into force that the disease started to get out of control. Again, it's been a case of those who know little about the countryside making decisions that generally seem to be utterly wrong.

However, perhaps a Labour government will see things differently !!!!!!!!!!!

Spot on

 

[Trickyd66]

Badgers, Foxes, Birds of Prey and even crows etc are all fantastic creatures that deserve our respect and to have a place on our little island.

However they need to be kept in balance, and controlled and managed as required. I am not convinced the old ways of just having them on the quarry list works - it needs to be a bit more scientific. Instead have an cull target and a continuous licence type system. So Badgers for example can be kept at low numbers as appropriate around cattle and ground nesting birds.

Badgers and Foxes in particular have big litters and thus populations can quickly bounce back.

Agreed, cattle and ground nesting birds, but I am sure they have a greater detrimental effect on hedgehogs than cars and loss of habitat. I see more hedgehog remains on open grass areas than squished on the road (but I am in a semi urban, edge of town location, with a large sett less than 500m away.)

 

[Heym SR20]

it would have to be an open licence, or else by the time you applied for, and maybe got granted a licence, it would be too late.

Agreed- a more proactive approach like they do in most other countries where game departments or forest service assess populations and grant licenses/ cull numbers on a rolling basis. Needs close cooperation and interaction with land owners, farmers, forestry and hunters for it to work.

 

[Heym SR20]

Agreed, cattle and ground nesting birds, but I am sure they have a greater detrimental effect on hedgehogs than cars and loss of habitat. I see more hedgehog remains on open grass areas than squished on the road (but I am in a semi urban, edge of town location, with a large sett less than 500m away.)

Hedgehogs - I haven’t seen one for years.

 

[Trickyd66]

Hedgehogs - I haven’t seen one for years.

As my post, "How loud does a hedgehog scream" a day or so back, I for the first time picked up a hedgehog on my CCTV every couple of nights.

Horrendous noise outside the house 3am one morning.... no Hedgehog on camera since then.

I have trawled the net Trying to find a study linking badger population increase to hedgehog population decline but to no avail.

Unfortunately Brock the badger has more protection than Mrs Tiggywinkle.... he is cute and fury, she is small and spiky.

 

[bobt]

Good morning all,

Appreciate this is a potentially contentious issue, but if one were to want to get involved with the local badger cull in the Hants/ Berks/ Wilts/ Oxon area, how would one go about it?

I was asked did I want to take part. minimum qual was DSC2,
the nano second I considered it, I realised the venom and fury that would come from the bunny huggers,