Lord Botham Resorts to Very Old Hunt Excuse To Excuse Shooting Birds

 Botham uses the old (we're in a tight corner) excuse for killing foxes because he was not allowed to go out and blast some birds with a shot gun?

At a time when "game birds" cannot be imported due to avian influenza what are these people doing? Going out to blast away at what is left -the same as done in the past which led to deer, hares and other species being wiped out and...importing more of the same for 'sport'.

Lack intellectual abilities says the man touting that worn out old "vermin control" line.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/lord-botham-accuses-hunt-saboteurs-205315164.html

Members of the Hunt Saboteurs Association disrupt Lord Botham's grouse shooting

Lord Botham has accused “self-righteous” hunt saboteurs of disrupting legal countryside pursuits and failing to understand conservation after an hour-long stand-off with protesters.

The peer and former cricketer was part of a grouse shooting party forced to abandon its shoot last week on Snailsden Moor in the Peak District after hunt saboteurs arrived.

Protesters sat down in front of Lord Botham’s 4x4 as part of a series of actions to disrupt the start of the grouse shooting season.

The hunting party called police to the incident, which took place last Tuesday morning.

Writing for The Telegraph, Lord Botham said protesters “lack the intellectual and social skills needed to persuade”.

Protesters in front of Lord Botham’s 4x4 in efforts to stop the grouse shooting

He added: “What makes them all the more tragic is that they are so high on their self-righteousness that they cannot see that real animal welfare is about complex choices.

“The fox they save today may decapitate a dozen chickens tonight – and eat none of them. Equally, the gamekeepers are all that stands in the way of predators devastating rare birdlife.

“The moors I walk across are abundant with curlews, merlins, short eared owls and golden plover because their predators are controlled.”

‘Heading home with an empty bag’

The incident was one of three shoots disrupted by the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA), which has its roots in protesting against fox hunting.

On its website the HSA said Lord Botham was “among many grouse shooters heading home with an empty bag,” adding: “Today’s action follows the complete shut down of a huge driven shoot in the Yorkshire Dales on the so-called Glorious Twelfth itself, and another victory yesterday where sabs prevented shooting near Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District.”

The HSA has a tactical guide for supporters on disrupting grouse shoots, which it says is an area of growing interest.

Chris Packham, a BBC presenter who in 2019 launched a petition to ban driven grouse shooting, tweeted in support of the saboteurs, calling the action “top work”.

The two men have had a long-running feud over shooting and conservation.

Lord Botham - Visionhaus/Getty Images Europe

Moorlands are controversial for environmentalists and groups including Mr Packham, who object to the management techniques used to keep them suitable for shooting, including heather burning.

The practice was partially banned last year. The Government said it was “damaging to peatland formation and habitat conditions”.

Countryside groups argue that the moors are a haven for wildlife including ground-nesting birds.

A spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation said: “The start of the grouse season has become a target for demonstrators as an opportunity to grab headlines.

“Grouse shooting is high-profile and is a means of these groups obtaining column inches.

“The shooting organisations are working directly with the police over incidents of shoot disruption, as aggravated trespass is being committed when demonstrators step onto a grouse moor with the intention of halting a legal activity.

“The irony is that the loss of the thing that the demonstrators are protesting against - moors managed for grouse shooting - also risks the loss of a raft of benefits for the environment, biodiversity and the conservation of protected species.

“That is a high price to pay for political gain.”

‘Grouse shooting is completely immoral’

Lee Moon, a spokesman for the HSA, said: “It’s always something we’ve been interested in but the tide of public opinion has been turning against grouse shooting, particularly the environmental impact of it.

“It is something we are increasingly focusing on and will continue to focus on.”

Police were called to the incident by the hunting party

He added: “Grouse shooting is still legal but completely immoral.

“Hunt saboteurs use non–violent direct action and are quite happy to explain to shooters why we believe their actions are wrong.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: “Officers were called shortly before 9.30am on Tuesday, August 16 to reports of a protest near Winscar Reservoir in Barnsley.

“Vehicles were stopped from leaving the location for a period of time. The protest group later dispersed.

“A man in his fifties was arrested for possession of a bladed article. He remains under investigation.”

The arrest is understood to have taken place a mile away from the protest site.

Invite Wild Animals into Your Garden Then YOU Assume Responsibility

 

There has been a report of a fox biting a domestic cat's tail> I am still somewhat dubious on how this has been reported but labelling it a "fox attack" is suspect to a degree.

This is what I posted on the group:

"We do not know the circumstances other than what we have been told and I think a lot of people are reacting badly to this. Cats are normally the aggressors in 99.9% of interactions with foxes.

We do not know what happened leading up to the alleged "attack" -unless you see an animal stalk and then launch an attack seeing the aftermath is not evidence of attack.

People are drawing WILD canids into their gardens, hand feeding them, trying to coax them into kitchens and homes and we have all seen this on videos in groups. This fox has now been labelled a "pest" and predator.

Will the other fox feeders in the street now panic? Will they decide that the "pest" needs to be taken out for the safety of pets? How do you know which fox is which and WHO is going to "remove" this fox?

Remember that it is currently fox dispersal and mating time so you will see new foxes turn up (some released by rescues) and YOU are inviting them into your gardens and feeding them when there are plenty of rats and mice about for them not to mention insects.

You have every right to feel uncomfortable with a post like this on a "fox lovers" group because if you are feeding foxes to attract them you are altering their natural behaviour. Mr and Mrs Fox do not sit under a mushroom having tea and biscuits with Mr and Mrs Ratty. They are wild animals.

If the fox in question here is coming back during the day time then it is perfect to try to humanely trap and relocate. I've given the link to Fox-a-Gon so let them do their work but remember: if you feed and encourage wild animals to come into your garden, if you try hand feeding wild animals or encourage wild animals into your homes then YOU are the person responsible for anything that goes wrong.

Hopefully in this case the fox is caught and relocated and does not end up as a "bit of fun and an earner" for pest controllers.

We are now at the point where local authorities monitor such reports and decide on action."

I really need to address some things.

The Fox Deaths Project is NOT funded. It gets no cooperation from Bristol City Council (who are more obstructive). I work with a colleague who has a full time job as well as the animal rescue work and the living take precedent over dead. 

People have this idea that we are a refuse collection scheme that will go out and pick up maggot infested and decomposing foxes in their gardens. "I've had this dead fox in my garden four days and the Council expect me to put it into a bin bag -can you collect?" and even "Well I can't see the point in contacting you about a dead fox if you are not going to pick it up" (the fox had been there a week). It is almost abusive at times but the sad thing is a lot of animal charities get this type of thing and mainly from people who have never helped support them in the past. Pure ignorance and "Why should I support them" attitude.

Hoaxers. We ask that if a dead fox is found that you take a photo of it in situ. That tells us a lot and helps assess whether it fits our criteria. There are people in Bristol who -for their own reasons- collaborate on trying to hoax us and have my colleague drive across the City to find...nothing. We do not ask for a dead fox photo because we collect them for fun.

Carcasses have to be fairly fresh. We have no freezing or cold storage facility and so we have to let any dead foxes reported Friday-Sunday go. The post mortem facility goes by normal time tables and closes 1630 hrs Friday until 0900hrs Monday. Rigor mortis and then decomposition start fairly quickly -in hot weather its fast! The post mortem examinations on dead foxes so far totals into the thousands and I had to fight to get system to accept that this was a necessary project and dumping rotting carcasses on a pathologist would soon see things grind to a halt.

If a fox is found dead by the side of the road or on the pavement then it may look untouched externally but we know the damage is all internal so unless we spot something in a photo such as yellowish/greenish tint to gums we give it a pass. Personally I would take every dead fox and have it examined as we might learn more, however, we have one very busy and top notch pathologist who has gone well beyond what we expected. To dump what are obvious RTA foxes would be an abuse of our agreement.

I do not drive so, if we can and a fox interests us we will try to collect it. However, my colleague has a full time job with long commute and if she is called out to rescue wildlife that takes time and if it's cold weather it might be possible to check the fox next day but in hot weather decomp sets in quicker.

This all applies to dead badgers, also, but we can only retrieve for post mortem IF there are suspicious circumstances (due to H&S the pathologist would have to carry out a PM in the garden).

There are two of us -one VERY active "us"- and we can only do so much. Any badger deaths or fox deaths ARE recorded and mapped but we don't even get the support animal charities so until the big money person donates £1 million we aren't changing!

Be Tick Aware!!

 

A Peek Inside -The Current Threat To UK Fauna And The Introduction Of New Fauna Species

 

Pages  20

Binding Saddle Stitch

Interior Color (photographs)

Dimensions A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm)

UK £15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-current-threat-to-uk-fauna-and-the-introduction-of-new-fauna-species/paperback/product-j4m9r7.html?page=1&pageSize=4

 In the United Kingdom new species of fauna have been introduced since Roman times and the number of species released or escaping into the countryside since 1900 has steadily increased. New species are filling in niches left by species extirpated by humans and these new species have, after 40+ years of observation created no problems.

Despite this the official policy of the UK Government and the Department for Environment Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is to class such species "invasive" and trap and kill them as the opportunity arises.

This paper suggests that DEFRA needs to reassess its stance since it is impossible to exterminate all established "invasive species" -the New fauna now closely tied to the Old fauna,

How Many Animals and Birds Killed on UK Roads

 Being very polite with National Highways (UK) at the moment re. road-kill stats but here is some very sobering and depressing stats for you:

*How many cats are killed on UK roads?

"In 'normal' times, PetPlan figures record 230,000 cats are hit by cars every year, that's 630 every single day in the UK.

*How many dogs are hit by cars each year UK?

1.2 million dogs are hit by cars every year | Pet Playgrounds DIY Dog Fence Kits.

*How many hedgehogs are killed by cars?

We think around 50,000 – 100,000 hedgehogs are killed annually on roads, out of a population of about 600,000, but the figures are very uncertain. If it's about a quarter of the total each year, then road casualties are likely to impact on the population and reducing that number could help conserve hedgehogs.

*How many birds are killed by cars UK?

The results were depressing. A minimum of 30 million birds are killed on Britain's roads every year.

Compare this to the fictionalised "domestic cats kill millions each year" (made up numbers of cats +made up numbers of kills =a very badly made up figure).

Add to this the number of cats, dogs and wild life killed through the use of rodenticides

• 4.6 million dog owners and 2.5 million cat owners believe their pet fell ill after consuming something poisonous, with one in nine pets being poisoned last year
• On average vets treat 323 dogs and 56 cats for poisoning every day across the UK
• One in six (17 per cent) poisoned dog and cat owners believe their pet was poisoned deliberately
• Claims data reveals Labradors, Cocker Spaniels and Poodle crossbreeds to be the three dog breeds most commonly poisoned over the last two years

According to Josh Davies writing for the Natural History Museum in 2020 https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/september/uk-has-led-the-world-in-destroying-the-natural-environment.html:

Centuries of farming, building and industry have made the UK one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe.

Extensive agricultural lands and road networks, in combination with other factors, have reduced the wildlife in the UK to a point hardly seen elsewhere.

While the UK has made some gains, natural landscapes have been so heavily degraded over decades and centuries that we are simply not doing enough to turn back the tide. 

Biodiversity is the name we give to the variety of all the plants, animals, bacteria and fungi with which we share the planet. It is the range of species found in every habitat on Earth, including in the woodlands, on the seashores and on the tops of mountains.

As humans change the environment, from building roads to digging up fields, we chip away at this diversity of life, reducing the number of species that are found in any one place.

This is causing species around the planet to decline at a concerning speed.

A new analysis looking into how much biodiversity is left in different countries around the world has shown that the UK has some of the lowest amounts of biodiversity remaining.

Before the Industrial Revolution, forests covered much more of the UK than they do now. Large areas of wilderness were home to animals and plants which are now a rare sight, or gone completely. Red squirrels, beavers, wolves and bears were once common in the British Isles.

The advent of mass farming, factories, roads, trainlines and urban sprawl has been a death knell for wild places, and it was accelerated by the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. And things are getting worse, not better.

More than 40 million birds have disappeared from the UK's skies since 1970, according to the RSPB.                    <end>

According to the Mammal Society:

In Britain annual road casualties are estimated to account for 100,000 foxes, 100,000 hedgehogs, 50,000 badgers and 30,000-50,000 deer.

The next moron who says "cats are slaughtering our wildlife" feel free to let the air out of his car tyres. Of course, no one counts mice or shrews which are small and most people hardly notice them.

The fox figure is interesting -as is that for badgers. The Fox Deaths Project has shown that there is babesia, septicemia, pneumonia and even "accidental" secondary rodenticide poisoning that is killing foxes or leading to their deaths and that excludes cubs who die when a vixen or brace (pair) of foxes are killed. Those numbers go uncounted as do "natural" cub deaths. No one has really looked into badger deaths because Health and Safety dictate over bovine TB -though we can post mortem a badger if cause of death looks suspicious (ONLY in the area the project covers sadly -City and County of Bristol).

Mapping locations of reported dead badgers as well as badger setts may help us in 2023 if any sow is killed and shows signs of having had cubs we can search the area for orphaned cubs.

We also know that wild boar and wallabies are killed on main roads and from eye-witness accounts (here I am referring to credible witnesses not people who report an old tyre as a "dead black panther") we know that large cats -panthers and pumas as well as jungle cats and other species (photographs and carcasses on record)- as well as wolverine are also killed and seen on the side of roads.

What I would like to see happen is that people who see these dead exotics -cats in particular- try to photograph them or report their observations. Unfortunately motorways are not the safest places to stop and run around the hard shoulder to photograph a dead animal. We know the deaths are occurring and it will give us a new angle to animal road deaths in the UK.