A while back I posted an article titled This Is HUMAN aided Evolution NOT "Invasive Species"
That post was s a timely reminder that the biggest factor in not just ecological but in wildlife changes are humans.
Humans introduce rats, rabbits, mice, foxes and many other species -foxes mainly so that English 'sportsmen' could continue having their fun away from the "old country". Rabbits were also introduced to Australia along with other rodentia and look at what has happened "plague proportions" of mice and rabbits. Okay the predators will pick them off -foxes, wildcats (feral domestics) and the native dingo (just identified as a vital part of the eco system...but they are still being shot, poisoned and snared). If you kill off the predators then the prey species will increase in number. Australia is seen as having a worse reputation when it comes to wildlife than the United States. There is a reason naturalists called Australia "the Red Continent".
It simply cannot sink into some minds that if you let the predators take care of the prey then a balance is achieved the natural way. The truth is that low IQs think killing is fun and they do not want that 'fun' spoilt.
In the UK hunting killed off most larger mammals from bears and boar as well as beaver, otters and so on. The "Golden Age of Hunting" otherwise known as the 19th century, saw everything killed for fun from grass snakes, slow worms, hedgehogs, seals -in fact the only animal I could not find listed as to be "killed for pleasure" is the earthworm (lucky escape there).
The vulpicide that took place on English as well as Scottish and Welsh estates was only on a par with lupicide; forests and woodland, even where wolves kept away from human activities, were burnt and levelled just so that wolves could be hunted and killed and that is a major topic for the British Canid Historical Society to cover one day.
As with foxes being blamed for taking farm birds (the 'sportsmen' themselves write that in many cases gamekeepers or other estate staff proved the culprits) and that was an excuse used only when the hunts were taken to court or prosecuted for killing smallholders animals, pet cats and dogs as well as attacking people -all jolly good fun in their books on the 'sport' but when the common dregs of society prosecuted "Vermin control" was shouted out in the loudest voice (and in court that really did not wash). The only people who use the term "pest" or "vermin" are pro hunt because in the UK foxes are not and never have been classed as such.
But while humans killed off all the local wildlife (all catalogued in the 'sportsmens' very own books) humans started importing exotic species by the shipload from the Americas, Africa, India and beyond; wallabies -which have been living wild in the UK since at least the 1800s. Boar have been re-introduced through 'escapes', mink were released from fur farms by animal rights groups, raccoons are by no means rare and we could go on to include reptiles and amphibeans as well as bird species.
The UK National Carnivore Advisory specialises in Old native carnivores as well as the New native carnivores -such as those 'big cats' that are the basis for so many poorly written media stories not to mention fantasy claims by "big cat hunters". They don't actually hunt but sit at home and mess about on the internet and back in the early 1990s when press and TV called me a "big cat hunter" I told them I was not. I was a naturalist and when they heard about how I investigated reports I was thereafter known as "Britain's Big Cat Detective" 😒
Just as my stance is against the badger culls that go on I am also opposed to the continued killing of 'invasive' species. I have lived and breathed exotics since 1976 and from 1977 until 2015 I was an exotic animals consultant to UK police forces and ran (and still do) the Exotic Animals Register -EAR. I do not just log a report but ask many questions and before I have finished an interview I have a good idea of local fauna and flora, possible habitat and also trails the animal in question follows.
After 40+ years I can report that not one of the large "invasive species" has affected local wildlife. In fact, I was surprised when gamekeepers as well as local farmers and naturalists began reporting that local wildlife seemed to be thriving and when it came to deer the herds had become stronger as weaker and sick individuals were "taken naturally" by a predator. When you do a paper trail and realise that some of these animals have lived and bred in the UK going back into the 17th/18th century you have to ask "Where is all the devastation their presence is supposed to cause?"
Common brush tail opossum. Status unknown
An eco system left to fend for itself soon restores balances but when money and 'sport' combine the results are always bad. Protect red squirrels but shoot them on private land or if it affects forestry. Shoot wildcats on private land.
Jungle cat -New UK species
I know of several cases where trapped "invasives" have been killed on DEFRA orders despite a local zoo or wildlife park offering to take an animal on. "We are just following the law" says DEFRA -and I think the "We were only following orders" line was slapped down as an excuse a long time ago.
A point to make is that there are likely no real "British" peoples in the UK now since the population has been added to over centuries by Romans, Vikings, Franks, Belgii and from further afield from trade ships and those serving in the Roman army from around the then known world. Which makes humans in the UK the most harmful invasive species ever. But we tend to cull ourselves pretty well.
We have a duty to find out about species humans have wiped out in the UK and to point out where accepted zoology has screwed up. This includes the over "guestimation" of fox and badger numbers and also, of course, culling.
We have feral domestic cats being killed in all sorts of ways in Scotland to keep the Scottish wildcat a "true breed" but the Museum Specimen type you will see photos of everywhere are probably not true wildcats because we know that just going as far back as 1790 the Scottish wildcat looked very different. And before 1790 it was noted by naturalists and zoologists that feral domestic cats were all that was keeping the wildcat species going into extinction -there are accounts of gamekeepers have 20-50 wildcat heads nailed up to prove that they had been doing their job. Bounties were paid for fox heads, badger heads and wildcat heads up until 1900 and reports brag of the "great work" carried out locally to eradicate the "main three". Excuses were made for why these animals were killed but the proud boast was that it was "good sport" and, of course, a bounty on every animals head was good drinking money back then and we saw this carried over to Australasia and bounties on thylacine heads...we know what happened to thylacines.
Felicide was on a par with fox and wolf killing and badger killing.
There is no excuse for breaking the law and removing a wildcat kitten from Scotland and transporting it to Wales with a dubious back story. A protected species should BE protected and not used to raise £20K + for....?
There are people who deal on a weekly basis in dead protected species -badgers conveniently "found dead on the side of the road" at a rate of 2-4 a week and offered at a price to taxidermists who ask no questions and who pay no attention to the risk of TB. Ask about the location that turns up so many badgers each week so that something can be done to prevent this and...you get kicked off of the group for "asking questions". Taxidermy needs to be looked at when it comes to "brown envelope" buying.
Ebay has sellers who trade in fox skulls -"50 already sold"/ "20 already sold" and when you see the number of dealers and how many skulls they are selling you SHOULD ask some serious questions -as should Ebay.
Wildlife in this country is protected by law.
You are not permitted to shoot or kill foxes unless a threat to your livestock. Yet week-in and week-out online and even on Face Book you see the 'sporting' shooters holding up or displaying the cat sized canids they were so manly in killing (with nightscope and rifle of course). No threat to lovestock. 'Fun'.
(c) Shooting UK
Incredibly people will gladly spend lots of money feeding doughnuts and other unsuitable foods to foxes and profess love for this wild canid yet will not sign petitions designed to protect them nor contribute to rescues to keep their work going. Its social media likes.
I tend to be overly polite but if I comment I base the comment on fact. That is not popular on fox groups and the fact that I have been blocked by all but one FB group says a lot.
We need to understand the animals we have lost as well as the ones that have taken their places.
We need to treat wildlife as wildlife and respect it.
We also need to educate our children on wildlife so that future generations will not forget what we lost or have.
I tend not to cover the hunting issue on this blog unless it is a news itwem or relates to a post subject but you can find out more on the subject here (and I do not endorse any site but offer the link):
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