NO. Never Ever Conclude "Poison" Without Evidence

 

For most vets "likely poisoned" is a "I have no idea" response. I think it is seven vets in Bristol who told people that a fox taken to them was "likely poisoned" and that is completely out of order. You TEST for poisons and then state it as fact.  Only one of over 60 foxes submitted to the Bristol study had secondary poisoning after eating a poisoned rat.

Today I see this from  Second Chance Fox Rescue:

"Had a call from Debra L Jessie this morning to say a man in southsea had got a little fox cub that he found close by an was concerned.

"So I went over and assessed the little one. Poor thing was not standing or running from me, very weak. I also witnessed him have a seizure blood was coming from his behind, …. On route to the vets he also had an another seizure. The vets assesses little one and he was not in a good place. Hi possibility of poisoning ..

"The kindest thing was to PTS. RIP little Joe"

I had to respond to this as claims of fox poisoning tend to get out of control and lead to a lot of local tension:

"There are a number of reasons why a cub/adult can have seizures as well as the blood noted. Poisoning has not been involved in any of the cases we have had post mortem examinations on.

"After almost 50 years on foxes I understand the concern but we had 6 vets at different practices declare "poisoned" and on testing they had no poison in them. We have to be very careful about claiming poison is a cause as it creates a very bad situation.

"I would suggest the cub had internal problems and may well have been hit by a car BUT that is a guess.

"Will the cub go for PM?"

The one thing you must never do is jump to a major conclusion with absolutely no scientific back-up and that is a strict rule I always have. I hope the cub is submitted for post mortem examination but to date I have found only one rescue doing that.

Which will Go Extinct First -Foxes or Badgers?

 

Based on past history along with what people are saying privately and the playing around with facts by DEFRA (someone there apparently does not like me) my own assessment is that it is far more likely that 80% of the badger population has been killed off. 

 Remember that DEFRA is pushing ahead with expanding the cull into areas with no bovine TB history and it is their stated policy to wipe out large areas of badgers.... badgers that are so few in number that they cannot find enough to kill.  Stated fact.

If the unscientific cull was stopped tomorrow, bearing in mind the number of badgers killed on the roads each year and "illegal" killings on private e4states and farms where "badger men" are still employed, then it would probably take30+ years for the population to get back to anywhere near pre-cull numbers if we are lucky.  

A species that survived centuries of melecide and finally got protection in the 1970s is now legally being eradicated -wiped out- for politically corrupt reasons.  

In 80-90 years a "reintroduction" of badgers will make no difference because the original population was slaughtered into extinction.  And foxes will accompany them into extinction Forever

It May All Fail Through Indifference

Back on the 9th March, 2024 I posted an item titled Naturalists Are A Dying Breed you can find that here

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2024/03/naturalists-are-dying-breed.html

The post including what we call a "hook line"; something that will get a reaction or should get a reaction: " I think I can guess the responses to this and yet I cannot believe that I am the only field naturalist left in Bristol! "  

And it took a week or so but I got a rather petulant reaction and I had said to someone that I guaranteed the main reaction would be petulant..  How dare I call myself the only naturalist in Bristol blah blah blah. So I responded saying that now that had been said what did the person have in mind re. getting volunteers and carrying on the fox death ans badger deaths projects?  Now, I had stated clearly that I set up the Bristol Badger Group in 1994 and so the suggestion was that I get the Somerset Badger Group to help. 

That was it. Big petulant response and "I have absolutely nothing" so why even respond. I would tell you about all the other responses but... there were none. Thousands of members of groups and nothing.

Today there were four dead badgers reported and they were not reported privately but on open public groups. Sarah Mills and a friend checked one...it was gone.  Then Sarah went to check on another -gone. Apparently a third vanished. How?  Well, the answer is simple since the City Council works Monday to Friday and being a bank holiday -nothing.Earliest collection would be Tuesday. It is a fact, I have even been told by some and had two admit that they grabbed foxes that were reported to me on Face Book groups as possible wildlife crime evidence (poisoning).

Taxidermists.  A headless fox found on a city street was not bitten off but neatly cut off. This I was told by a taxidermist was likely by one of his compatriots. I was told if the body of a road kill fox is too messy then the head is still worth working on and selling "Usually we'll pop the body in a bin" he told me.  Two foxes suspected of being poisoned were placed on a wall for someone to collect. It was made clear on the group where they were reported that these were suspected poisonings and so possible wildlife crime and to be submitted for post mortem examination. The person who went to collect them found the foxes gone and the woman who reported them noted that a man in a car pulled up and put both in a bag then in his car and drove off "He never even knocked as I was told he would". Nothing to do with me and the man was later identified as a taxidermist.

Snatching dead foxes and badgers for your little business is well and good but these people do not check whether the fox is a vixen or badger a sow and whether they are lactating meaning that orphaned cubs need to be checked for. There is no interest in wildlife on their part and they do not care whether they grab evidence in poisoning cases or not.

Of course, taxidermists are not interested in volunteering in picking up and transporting dead otters or foxes for PM examination.

As it happens it is likely that we will struggle to collect any such dead animals. Today a approx 10 week old fox collapsed and died and his body was green; very jaundiced and Sarah Mills contacted me and we have the fox ready for submission and testing. 

Above the jaundiced fox cub photo (c)2024 Sarah Mills

I have seen jaundice but the entire eye was green and the cub itself looked in good bodily condition.  Other foxes we have lost.  

Pretty flowers, butterflies, birds are only part of nature and I still cannot understand why "naturalists" in Bristol are not interested in badgers (alive or dead) and foxes other than rare photo opportunities.  The Fox Death Project is discovering things and the only project of its type in the UK but no one wants to be part of that.

I am currently having to re-evaluate what will happen in 2024 but so far it looks bleak. Fighting bureaucracy to get the post mortems carried out and all the side issues and problems and it may all fail through indifference.

"Is It A Dead Puma?!" Well.....

  The following is an example as to how and why people report dead big cats in the British countryside. Let me start out by stating that I know, after decades, that we do have large cats in the UK and I was a UK police forces exotic wildlife consultant from 1977 0n. I have seen the evidence and people beyond reproach have also seen dead large cats.  Therefore I am not dismissing the subject but pointing out why we must check every detail especially in an age where every pet cat seen crossing a road or field gets photographed or video recorded as a "big cat".

On the 3rd April, 2024, I was contacted and sent this image. I was asked "what is it -it's big!" I took notice because it looks like a dead puma and on an area on the outskirts of Bristol.  Look at that head and the huge jaws not to mention the long muscular legs.

photo (c) 2024 British Fox and Canid Study

At the same time a little voice said "Hang on. Look at the surroundings" I did. And I went straight to the Dead Foxes File and I found the images I needed. The images below were sent to me in February, 2024 and it is the exact same spot and reported by two people -even the position it is lying in is the same.

Photo (c)2024 British Fox and Canid Study

The animal had obviously been in the water a while but it was obvious what it was when reported.

photo (c)2024 British Fox and Canid Study

Perhaps a close up might help?

photo (c)2024 British Fox and Canid Study

The ears give it away.  This was a fox and after a month I had expected it to have been either removed or decayed/predated on. It was a surprise to see how the decomposition had developed and why people when they saw the April image thought it was large animal and one even asked "You've finally got one (puma) to go on the slab?"  I so hated to disappoint.

But this shows why people need to observe not just live animals but also dead ones. It is grim but a periodic check will tell you a lot and that knowledge is then in your head for good.  I have no doubt the first image will be pinched by someone and appear on the internet as a "dead  mystery beast".  Sad that the fox died but even though it was initially too far gone for a post mortem the fact that someone saw it a month later and sent me the photos meant that I learnt from this.

This should make every single human angry!!

From Project Coyote and this really shows what goes on.

 

Cody Roberts, a #Wyoming resident who captured, tortured, and killed a yearling wolf, has received substantial payments totaling tens of thousands of dollars through trucking contracts with agencies such as the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Records from Wyoming’s financial transparency platform, WyOpen.gov, reveal that between 2020 and 2024, Roberts’ trucking company provided services to the Game and Fish Department on at least 12 occasions. Roberts also undertook work for the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The contracts with wildlife authorities have drawn understandable scrutiny. During this period, Roberts earned more than $43,000 from the Game and Fish Department (@wygameandfish).

Agency spokeswoman Breanna Ball confirmed to Cowboy State Daily the active contract with C Roberts Trucking LLC. However, Ball remained non-committal regarding the possibility of future contracts with Roberts, stating that decisions were yet to be determined.

The existing association between Roberts and the game agency raises concerns and questions about whether this relationship influenced the leniency shown toward Roberts, who was fined a mere $250 for his barbaric acts against the young wolf. This brings into question the thoroughness of the agency’s due diligence. How well acquainted were the wardens with Roberts, given his evident business ties with the department?

As we’ve previously shared, wildlife agencies have been captured by undemocratic and dangerous worldviews that don’t represent public values and interests. Instead, they cater to narrow special interest groups, i.e., animal agriculture and hunting—often with specific interests in killing wild carnivores, allowing people like Cody Roberts to inflict untold suffering upon sentient, family-oriented animals.

Wyoming Wolf Action Hub: https://tinyurl.com/49w6rztj

Vale Wildlife Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre -Contains Graphic Image

 

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES

This poor fox came into us yesterday afternoon after he was seen with the pictured plastic bottle stuck around his neck for at least 2 weeks!

Thankfully, he was caught in a trap and brought straight to us for treatment.

Just over 24 hours with us and his nasty would is already looking better.

He will stay with us for treatment before releasing when he is ready.

Please, take a little extra care when recycling/throwing away rubbish. Although he has a nasty wound, this fox is one of the lucky ones and many, many more animals aren't as fortunate.

What could take you a few seconds longer, could save a life

#ResponsibleRecycling #valewildlifehospital #helpingbritainswildlife

Vale Wildlife Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre