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Saturday, 30 September 2023

The Red Paper 2022 Volume II: Wild Cats, Ferals and New Native Species

 



226 pp
Paperback
Interior Color and Black and white
Dimensions  A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm)
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£25.00

In 1896 Scottish naturalists and zoologists declared that the true Scottish wild cat had become extinct by the 1860s. What we see today is nothing more than a wild tabby cat. In this work the true history and destruction of wild cats from England, Wales (where hybrids clung on into the 1940s) and Scotland is explored and after decades of research the true look of the wild cat is revealed. The "English Tiger" and "Highland Tiger" truly lived up to that name.

Dogma is finally thrown out.
There is also a look at the "New Native Cats" ranging from Asian Golden Cats, Lynx, Puma and others and the evidence leading to their being so designated. No silly press or media stories just solid facts backed up by evidence. The author acted as an exotic species wildlife consultant to UK police forces from 1977-2015 as well as cooperated with university projects on the subject.
Island cats as well as feral cats their lifestyles and problems mare also covered .
Fully referenced and including maps, illustrations and very rare photographs -some never before seen in print- make this a book for amateur naturalists and zoologists.

The Red Paper 2022 Volume I: Foxes, Jackals, Wolves, Coyotes and Wild Dogs of the United Kingdom and Ireland

 




361 pp
Paperback
Interior Color & Black and white
Dimensions A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm
£25.00
https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/the-red-paper-2022-volume-1-canids/paperback/product-r97ywj.html?

 When the Doggerland bridge flooded the British Isles became separated from

Continental Europe and its wildlife developed uniquely. The British Isles, for the purpose of this work includes Ireland, and isolated the wolves on both became what would be island species not affected by the usual island dwarfism. These wolves, after millennia. Became “unwanted” and forests and woodland was burnt down or cut down for the specific purpose of lupicide; the killing of every and any wolf –and there was a bounty for “a job well done”.
At the same time there also developed three unique island species of Old fox from the coyote-like Mountain or Greyhound fox, the slightly smaller but robustly built Mastiff or Bulldog fox and the smaller Common or Cur fox –the latter like today’s red foxes had a symbiotic relationship with humans.

These canids were mainly ignored until it was decided that they could provide fur and meat and those things earn money. From that point onward, especially after all other game had been killed off, the fox faced what writers over the centuries referred to as vulpicide –extermination through bounties paid, trapping or hunting and despite all the hunters noting that the Old foxes were nearing extinction they continued to hunt until by the late 1880s the Old were gone and replaced by the New –foxes imported by the thousands every year for the ‘sport’ of fox hunting and this importation also led the the UK seeing the appearance of mange (unknown before the importations).

The travelling British sportsmen went coyote, wolf and jackal hunting and on returning to England wanted to bring a taste of this to “the good old country”. Wolves, jackals and coyotes were set up in hunting territories from where they could learn the lay of the land and provide good sport later. Some hunts even attempted to cross-breed foxes, jackals and Coyotes.
Then there were the legendary –almost mythical– “beasts”; the black beast of Edale, the killer canids of Cavan and the “girt dog” of Ennerdale.
In more recent times raccoon dogs and arctic foxes have appeared in the UK; some released for ‘sport’ while others are exotic escapees long since established in the countryside.
If you thought you knew what fox hunting was about prepare to be woken up by a sharp slap to the face and the reality that, by admissions of hunts themselves, this was all about fun and sport and nothing to do with “pest control”.

The Current Threat To UK Fauna And The Introduction Of New Fauna Species -a look inside

 


Pages  20
Binding Saddle Stitch
Interior Color (photographs)
Dimensions A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm)
UK £15.00
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 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,



Did The Lynx Survive Until The 18th Century In The UK?

 

Pages
13
Binding
Saddle Stitch
Interior Color
Color
Dimensions
A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm)

£11.00


For many the lynx (Lynx lynx) died out during the last ice age in Britain. However, the historical evidence shows that it continued until hunted to extinction during the Medieval period.

Over recent years many have claimed that the lynx in fact survived up to the 18th century -some state it survived later than that.

In this publication naturalist Terry Hooper-Scharf assesses the evidence and points to reports and other factors not widely known to draw a definitive conclusion on the subject

The "Girt Dog" of Ennerdale

 


A4
B&W
42pp
Illustrated
£10.00
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Over 200 years ago, in 1810, sheep were being killed in the Ennerdale area of Cumbria. 

The sheep were allegedly hardly eaten yet their blood had been drained and the killer responsible thwarted the efforts of organised hunts and terrified hounds. What was the “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale? 

Many theories abound from a paranormal creature called a “Mauler” to an escaped hyena , Tiger or even a Thylacine. Perhaps an unknown species of native British big cat?

 The truth of what the “Girt Dog” was lies within the original accounts of the time. Documents that modern writers appear to have never consulted. Noted British naturalist Terry Hooper-Scharf assesses the evidence.

Chris Packham joins London protest following devastating UK wildlife report

 


British wildlife campaigner Chris Packham joined protesters outside the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on Thursday following the release of a devastating report on the state of UK wildlife.

On Wednesday, the National Trust released its State of Nature report which found that one in six of the 10,000-plus species across the UK risk going extinct.

The report also found the number of species in the UK has fallen by 19 per cent on average since 1970.

“We don’t have time to wait any longer. We need everyone to be involved in nature restoration as it won’t happen overnight,” Packham told Sky News during the protest in Westminster.

“What we’re saying to all the political parties is to take this seriously. We need a healthy environment, it supports us.”

Unless Government support materialised to support the environment, the Springwatch presenter threatened to take to the streets “on several more occasions” before the next election.

The release of the report comes after regulators approved the Rosebank oil field on Tuesday. The Rosebank field, which lies north-west of Shetland and contains up to 350 million barrels of oil, is currently one of the largest untapped discoveries in UK waters.

Ithaca Energy, which has a 20 per cent stake in the project said it would bring in £8.1billion of direct investment, support 1,600 jobs during construction and 450 during its lifetime.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) agreed to the new project despite heavy criticism from environmental campaigners.

Commenting on the approval, Packham called the decision “catastrophic” and “abject madness”.



“They keep on about jobs in the oil industry. That’s bad, old business,” he said. “We need bright, new business, which is in renewables. That’s where we need our investment, and we have that capability to do that in the UK.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, Tory peer Lord Zac Goldsmith also criticised the decision, saying: “It just trashes the UK’s reputation as a reliable, grown-up member of the global community, it’s done us immeasurable harm.”

He also attacked the delay to net zero policies such as a ban on new petrol and diesel cars announced last week by the Prime Minister, saying the Conservative Party seems to be in “disarray” and that he may not be able to vote for it.

Dan Sherrard-Smith, founder of MyMotherTree.com told the Standard: “UK wildlife is in a dire state. Many of our favourite British species are at risk of extinction including the turtle dove and puffin.

“On current trends, we look at a bleak future with, potentially, only household pets and domestic animals sharing our island. Yet we can halt this decline.

“One action all of us can take is to make sure our money - where we bank and our pension - is invested in areas that promote and restore the biodiversity of the UK. This was once a green and pleasant isle. It can be again.”



Daniel Kaul, from Natucate added: “The UK's wildlife has experienced significant declines due to factors like habitat loss, climate change, and pollution, with many species facing potential extinction.

“If no action is taken, the future will see massive species loss, ecosystem destruction, and economic impacts due to reduced biodiversity. To halt this decline, it's crucial to focus on habitat restoration, conscious conservation, public education, robust environmental policies, and addressing needed changes.”

Dr Nicky Dee, founder of Carbon 13 also said: “It would be a sad 12 days of Christmas without the two turtle doves yet this is one of the birds at risk. While alarming, it is an alert to the greater challenges triggered by climate change. The canary in the coalmine is a good analogy, as nature tells us about the state of the planet and our ability to adapt and cope with climate change.

“Biodiversity is our most effective defence against climate change. And that’s why we have invested in startups such as NatureBound and Kita so we are better able to evaluate this link and ensure money goes into the right places.”



Canid Comparison: How Could Experienced 'Sportsmen' Not Tell A Wolf From A Fox?

 This is a rather interesting post on the Cedar Creek Eyes On The Wild blog titled Comparing Canids and the chart speaks volumes. https://eyesonthewild.blogspot.com/2019/02/comparing-canids.html



How could experienced hunters/'sportsmen' not know that they were chasing a wolf or coyote or even a jackal on a hunt?

As noted in The Red Paper 2022 Vol. I: Canids the English and Welsh hunts imported not only foxes to replace the ones they wiped out but also wanted the animal they chased to "give a good account of itself" (ie put up a fight when cornered by hounds and killed).
They wanted an animal with stamina as the duration of a chase and distance covered was even more important than killing the animal chased. The records are proudly given of "wasted" hounds and hunters (hunters being the horses) which meant that both were run up to a point of near collapse or actual collapse and death. One hunter who refused to ride his £40 (EXPENSIVE back in the 19th century) horse that was nearing exhaustion and collapsed was mocked.
So there had to be a good chase. There also had to be, if wanted, either a capture so that the fox could be released and hunted again (in some cases 6-8 times) which was a "bagged fox" that was released at an announced place.
For stamina the old colonials who also went on hunting holidays to the United States and Europe knew that wolves, coyotes and jackals had the stamina superior to the fox (by the 1860s they had wiped out the old greyhound fox).
Wolves, coyotes and jackals also fought well when cornered and that was something the hunters wanted., The Duke of Beaufort on a wolf hunt in France in the 1880s rather than let the wolf be released after cornering to let the chase continued threw a hissy fit and demanded the animal was strangled on the spot.
Acquiring either wolf or coyote was no problem as animals were imported by the many thousands each year -including jackals. We know there were announcements of wolves and jackals being released for hunts and we know there were attempts to cross-breed the animals.
There was one fox that eluded the hunt for years and was white in colour and known as Mr Lloyd. One day its luck ran out and all but the head (a bitch fox hound had to be beaten to get it off her) was consumed -hounds were always starved or else they were not keen to hunt. An author noted how the day after the kill a friend brought the head to his house and it "looked for all the world like a wolf"
From the description it obviously was a wolf.
All of this was public knowledge and stories appeared in newspapers, magazines and journals as well as well read books. And it continued into the early 20th century.
Is it possible that the 'sportsmen' could mistake a wolf, coyote or jackal for a cat sized red fox? That would either be gross stupidity and ignorance. The animals were deliberately released and it is possible some of the hunt social hangers on did not know what they were chasing.
All of this is well documented if you carry out even basic research. For many in fringe groups such as cryptozoology facts are inconvenient as to spin a mystery (and make money) they are not needed -The Great Dog of Ennerdale (1810) has been labelled a thylacine that escaped from a travelling show to a tiger and even a dire wolf (it is always a dire wolf with these people) or hyena. I went back to the original sources and solved the 'mystery'
One group wants to cover up its embarrassing history while another will accept the denials to 'prove' that various "mysterious animals"/"cryptids" were on the loose and simply....'vanished'.

Forestry From Wales to Norfolk

 I have written before on how humans destroyed vast tracks of forest and ancient woodland and how the fauna in those areas -foxes, wolves, lynx, etc- suffered. In the case of wolves the prime purpose for destroying forests was to get to get whether a "nuisance" or not.

This article from the At Home With Wild Nature blog may interest readers.

https://athomewithwildnature.blogspot.com/2023/09/from-river-severn-to-wash-without.html

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(c)2023 respective copyright owner

One thing you you will continuously read or hear is that Britain only had sporadic forestry and the meagre forestry of the Middle ages is basically i9t and we are recovering that now through replanting.

I will comment that this is utter rubbish. It is a rebooting of history to make us feel like we are environmentally aware and rewilding and restoring our old environment.The Romans and others wrote of British forestry and this trendy "Let's lie and make ourselves feel better" mentality has now become dogma (you knew I was going to mention dogma, didn't you?). That or simply very - very - poor research.

My colleague, LM, has brought to my attention this book Historic Forests of England by Ralph Whitlock. Yes, I do not make all of this stuff up but base it on established work and references that anyone can check and confirm.



There is one passage my attention was drawn to


Therefore you can see that the rather meagre forestry of the Medieval period that we have "reclaimed" is nothing. Look at that part about squirrels again:


The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and that covers roughly a distance of 150 miles or 241+ kilometres.  

\Above: River Severn to the Wash


Of course, much forestry around London and Kent was lost to industry and ship building and that is what led to the extinction of wild cats in that part of the country by the 19th century. Note in that paragraph how it notes environmental damage from man at one point was minimal but fires were set to make hunting easier by flushing out woodland fauna.

The forests of old Britain would have contained deer, wild cats, wolves, badgers, wild boar, the Old fox types as well as lynx and other animals.  We lost all of that forestry and all of those animals and there is no amount of tree planting going to bring them or the forests back. Even now forests that have matured are being cut down for timber (a reason the red squirrel is still being killed to "protect product" -and that killing is carried out in daylight and with bodies such as English Nature and DEFRA knowing about it.

At the moment we need more trees. We need far more greener spaces. We need to protect and conserve wildlife. With a UK government that is pro hunt and focussed on finances rather than those three 'nuisance' things there is not much light at the end of a long tunnel. we need far more people to step up, organise and act or in future a holiday will be taking the kids to the one acre park once a year for some fresh air.


(c)2023 respective copyright owner

Friday, 29 September 2023

Just A Brief Word

 


 Just a brief word. I assume that you visit this blog because you find the subject matter of interest?

Despite some thinking that I make money from these blogs I do not. They are not monetized and not filled with gambling or unsavoury ads. With a world wide readership I have to make sure that nothing I post or ads that I would have no control over do not get someone in a country with more restrictive laws into trouble.

Blogger -and Google mainly- do not push blogs. This blog does not appear when you search Google or Bing so most people will never know that it exists.

There are ways that you can help -I have given up on expecting comments- and one is to become a blog follower. It costs nothing but shows that there are real people out there reading the blog.

The second way is to pass links around to people or groups you think might be interested. It's all basic but helps show I am not posting to myself even though I know this tiny blog has had 26, 307 views.

So if you can help please do.

Thank You

One In Eight -What Are YOU Going To Do?


 

Thursday, 28 September 2023

Blog Followers

 




Hello.

I took a look at the blog today and noticed that there were no followers listed. To follow the blog costs nothing and it helps push the blog a bit more if there are followers.

Your choice but if you are interested in wild canids and felids then please consider following.

Thank You

"Re-Introduce" Species Into The Red Island

 I need to make something very clear and it demonstrates why I take my current stance on things.  


During the early to mid 1800s so many deer were wiped out from 'sport' hunting that in many areas new stock were imported from Europe to keep the 'enjoyment and sport' going. This is why, when DNA is taken from deer in the UK we hear "They match European deer so are of the same species not unique".

By the 1860s the Red Squirrel had been wiped out due to 'fun' of hunting. The response was to introduce through importation many more from Europe to "replenish stock".  This is why, when DNA is taken from red squirrels in the UK we hear "They match European red squirrels so are of the same species not unique". Since the 1860s red squirrels have faced several extinction threats and of course Grey squirrels are used as the scapegoat for that yet red squirrels are still being shot, snared, poisoned etc.

Although the British wild cat survived for longer than is officially claimed, which shows how ignorant people are and how historical references have been diligently ignored in favour of dogma. In 1780 it was a known fact that the British wild cat had only survived due to interbreeding with feral domestic cats and had probably done so for centuries. Officially, in 1897, Scottish naturalists and zoologists declared in print that the "true" Scottish wild cat had become extinct in the 1860s (as did other species). There were numbers of imported European wild cats in private menageries, travelling menageries and so on.  Escapes, deliberate releases into rented hunting areas etc is recorded. This is why, when DNA is taken from wild cats in the UK we hear "They match European wild cats so are of the same species not unique"

By the 1860s (in some areas of Scotland perhaps 1870s?) the three types of Old British fox -the Mountain/Greyhound, Mastiff and Cur- were extinct or in some cases hybridising with some of the many thousands of imported European red foxes. It is estimated that 2000 plus red foxes were imported into England each year and this importation had probably begun in the 1600s/1700s. Wave after wave of extinctions -due to hunting and hunting practices- followed and even in the 1920s foxes were being stolen from Ireland to replenish English hunt stocks. This is why, when DNA is taken from red foxes in the UK we hear "They match European red foxes so are of the same species not unique".

(c)2023 respective copyright holder

I could go on and on but if the readers of this blog have not understood this situation by now I may as well give up.

We know that there are various former exotic cat species that have lived and bred in the wild in the UK for decades and in some areas going as far back as the 1920s. We know that one of these cats is the lynx. We also know that farmers have shot and killed wild living lynx since the 1920s (documented in The Red Paper 2022 Vol. II -Felids). The lynx that were killed were doing what a wild cat does and that was killing to survive and when conditions got bad a sheep was a good meal. 

(c)2023 EAR Archive

I see repeatedly on Rewilding Scotland and England sites all the calls to bring back lynx and every time the question of "What about farmers rights" is raised. Adequate compensation for kills is mentioned and treated as an insult. At the moment 'sporting shooters' are actually wishing people would hurry up and re-introduce lynx so they can "bag" one (not understanding what the term "bag" in hunting means). 

Even now with some areas introducing the European wild cats there is talk of "taking one if it comes into my sight". No one can offer any lynx or wild cat 25/7 and 365 days of the year protection. Even with radio collars there is no guaranteed safety for the animals. You are talking about people with high power rifles and night-sights that go out each week to wipe out as many foxes as they can for 'fun' and brag about it and show the photos. No police or RSPCA action is taken against these people.  We know that publicised escaped pet foxes even with collars once seen are shot and there is joking. Pet cats are also being killed. But, yes, perfectly fine to introduce lynx and wild cats.

(c)2023 respective copyright owner

I am absolutely opposed to any introduction of any wild animal until there are laws in hannd which are rigorously enforced by the police with no exceptions (including off duty police officers 'enjoying' some shooting).

Wolves being introduced to the UK has the 'sportsmen' very excited. There is even discussion of which areas wolves are proposed being released into and where the good shooting spots might be. This is before any animnal has been approved for release and actually released.

Those who keep an eye on these things, and there are fewer of us each year, know what the situation is but there is a lot of money invested in these schemes and after all any animal killed can be replaced. Sound familiar?

We know Australia as "The Red Continent" (a term coined by Australian naturalists) due to its appalling record in killing by any means anything it does not like while stating it is to save Australia's natural fauna (which it is also killing).  The UK has a similar reputation, or should have. Far from being "a nation of animal lovers" the UK should be re-labelled (especially with a pro hunt government feeding off the money of pro hunt supporters) "The Red Island. We are still killing off our own 'protected species' for no reason as well as many other species because greed is more important.

Do your own research -you will not find it online or on You Tube or in any UK museum, for that matter.  But the real question is probably "Who cares?"

Who’s Afraid of Europe’s Big, Bad Wolves?

Conservationists face off against farmers in a familiar man-versus-nature conflict.

An interr4esting article from Foreign Policy website

 By Ilya Gridneff

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/23/eu-threat-farmers-conservationists-belgium-france-wolf-plan/

A lone wolf faces the camera appearing to snarl on a dry winter field on the edge of the forest in Hukkajarvi, eastern Finland.
A lone wolf faces the camera appearing to snarl on a dry winter field on the edge of the forest in Hukkajarvi, eastern Finland.
A lone wolf stands on the edge of a forest in Hukkajarvi, eastern Finland, near the Russian border, on May 16, 2022. OLIVIER MORIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Who’s afraid of Europe’s big, bad wolves? Farmers, mostly, and also arguably the most powerful woman in Europe, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is warning the continent about the threat they pose.

Wolves, thanks to years of efforts at conservation, are back and often in places they haven’t been in ages. The wolf population in Europe has surged to nearly 20,000, partly as a result of the EU Habitats Directive, a 1992 policy that set out to protect the four-legged predator and other indigenous European wildlife. In Belgium, wolves recently returned after a century-long absence. In Scandinavia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway have granted hunters permission to cull small numbers. Similarly in France, the government this week released its National Wolf Plan, mildly relaxing laws protecting them.

The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, this month launched a bid to potentially slash wolf populations in response to growing pressure from an alliance of key conservative interest groups across the continent—farmers and people who have animals that get eaten by wolves.

“The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans,” von der Leyen said in early September. “I urge local and national authorities to take action where necessary.” 

If wolves are running wild today, they are all over European folklore. In Roman mythology, the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were raised by a she-wolf. The monstrous wolf Fenrirwho killed Odin, is a key figure in the Norse tale of good versus evil, known as Ragnarok. The wolf is an antagonist in children’s fables, whether about the structural integrity of housing in “The Three Little Pigs” or intergenerational stresses in “Little Red Riding Hood” or the repercussions for a boy who peddled “fake news” in “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” In the late 18th century, parts of Europe were in a panic about the Beast of GĂ©vaudan, a legendary man-eating wolf-like creature marauding through France. 

A statue of a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus of Roman mythology is silhouetted against Rome's Capitoline Hill at sunset. The outlines of buildings are seen in the background.
A statue of a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus of Roman mythology is silhouetted against Rome's Capitoline Hill at sunset. The outlines of buildings are seen in the background.

A statue of a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, who in Roman mythology founded Rome, is silhouetted against Rome’s Capitoline Hill circa 1965.DAVID LEES/GETTY IMAGES

The EU’s recent move to address growing wolf populations is a significant change in tone from October 2021, when the bloc named the wolf an “integral part” of Europe’s biodiversity. Then again, last September, von der Leyen, a former German defense minister and member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, lost her pony Dolly to a wolf attack near Hannover. A subsequent council order to shoot the male wolf, which had killed other animals in the area, expired in January. 

But politicians had their dander up. In November 2022, the European Parliament passed a motion calling for the downgrading of protections for the wolf. The nonbinding motion was driven by the group of conservative European parties known as the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest and most powerful alliance in Parliament and von der Leyen’s political home. 

Not everybody is lancing with wolves. Biodiversity experts such as Bruna Campos, a senior policy manager at EuroNatur, a German conservation NGO, disagree. “Wolves in Europe pose no threat to humans,” she said. “They do sometimes attack livestock, but there are already several known methods to massively reduce this threat,” she added, suggesting nonlethal techniques such as better fencing and random blasts of colorful light, noise, or motion. 

For conservationists, the booming wolf population is a success story, not a scapegoat for struggling farmers. 

In some ways, Europe’s wolf debacle is a familiar man-versus-nature conflict witnessed across the globe as natural habitats shrink and farmers, ranchers, and herders encroach evermore. From Alaska to Arizona, many U.S. states face increased bear attacks, while parts of Africa, such as Kenya, see pastoralists kill endangered lions to protect their livestock. In India, endangered Asian elephants kill around 500 people every year amid growing tensions with farmers and locals.

The body of a female wolf rests in the snow after a hunt in Sweden. Evergreen trees covered in snow are behind the field of snow and a directional sign is seen at right pointing the distance to a nearby town.
The body of a female wolf rests in the snow after a hunt in Sweden. Evergreen trees covered in snow are behind the field of snow and a directional sign is seen at right pointing the distance to a nearby town.

The body of a female wolf rests in the snow after being killed by hunters near Kristinehamn, Sweden, on Jan. 2, 2010. OLIVIER MORIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

In Europe, though, the farmers have backup. Copa-Cogeca, the lobby group for European farmers that spends millions of euros every year to shape EU agricultural policy, welcomed Parliament’s lupine announcement as a means to combat the “tragedies occurring in our countryside.” The group did not respond to requests for further comment.

The need for a “strategic dialogue” on agriculture was a key pillar in von der Leyen’s State of the Union address on Sept. 13, where she specifically praised farmers, thanking them “for providing us with food day after day.”

With elections looming in less than a year, and with farmers up in arms and conservatives fearful they’ll lose seats to the far right, many argue that the cry about wolves is just cynical politics.

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This is how it works. In the village in Germany where I lived the local big farmer was also the local jager (hunter/forester) and on top of that also the burgermeister. This is a typical situation with farmers being hunters or heavily associated with hunters and hunting.  Come election time these hunters-farmers are very vocal and if you disagree with what they say you are an idiot, do not know what you are talking about and it can get to the point of threats.

The local farmer/hunter can have some local clout in persuading others to vote or they can contribute to the local politicians campaign fund box or pocket. Let's not pretend that all politicians are squeaky clean and only interested in doing what is good for "the people". Political jobs come with a lot of free meals, high pay and many other benefits including the opportunity of high paid jobs in companies or industries later on.

France was once described by old English 'sportsmen' as "rabidly anti-wolf" and in the 1980s a French naturalist told me "nothing has changed. The French still see wolves as animals that need wiping out" (I covered the history of wolves in France, etc in The Red Paper 2022: Canids). We know that "relaxing" the hunting of wolves in France does not mean much since wolves have been killed there without halt (or prosecution) -as with Spain where they were recently declared wiped out. Extinct -yet protected:

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-age-of-extinction-wolves-declared.html

And I even reported on Sweden's shameful destruction of its wolf population: 

 https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2023/05/sweden-needs-to-hang-its-head-in-shame.html

The US, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway have literally declared a war against wolves.

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-us-finland-sweden-switzerland-and.html

 The situation in the US is pure dumb assery and a lot of the wolf killing is based on corruption in the system which ignores national and state laws. Almost black comedy comes in the form of US states panicking because they are obliged by law to "re-introduce" wolves (which will end up being killed) because other states won't let them have any of theirs (hunters would be up in arms and think of the loss of revenue from pals who hunt and donate funds).  

Europe via its EU Commission should be what it was set up to be: a shining example to the world of wildlife conservation and rebuilding the environment. Instead it has a leader who (tragically) had her horse killed by a wolf and has now declared the wolf population "a problem" and actively urges local authorities to take action. To wipe them out in other words.   

This is why I have gone from advocating returning wolves to the UK and Ireland to standing firmly against it. The UKs record on killing protected species (quarter of a million badgers killed over bovine TB with no science behind the cull) and everything but humans blamed for hedgehogs heading for extinction level. Wild cats are still being caught in inhumane traps, shot, clubbed and poisoned in Scotland and the defence of "I thought it was a hybrid -we can kill those" wore thin 40 years ago (the European wild cat being introduced to the UK to replace the extinct UK wild cats will not be safe -there is already talk amongst hunting groups  about who will get the first wild cat). Even the UK fox population is in crisis because of snaring, shooting, poisoning and much worse -and cars kill many thousands each year and the attitude is that they are "just foxes".

Will the public in the United States call for all the killing of wolves and coyotes to stop? NO. So long as they have pizza, beer and TV why worry about wildlife?

Will people in Europe who were at one time considered championing wildlife and the environment do anything? I really doubt it because they have allowed the killing to continue over the decades. Will the people in the UK do anything? My response to that is hysterical laughter. Not even UK museums give a true and honest historical account of our wildlife that humans wiped out.

There are good people out there but they do not get the support they need from the public and the push-back on politicians, especially in a pro-hunt UK government, does not exist. Even the Green Party in the UK talks more about business and industry development -the environment is an aside it uses when convenient.  We will see foxes and badgers become extinct in the UK by the 2030s. Will the hedgehog survive (do not believe all the "they are recovering in numbers" bull-shit)?   

Again; what are YOU going to do?  We are The Red Island and Europe through its shenanigans are overseeing the wiping out of wolves again and then they will suddenly find that the jackals are now a "problem" and they will be wiped out.  The poster child for this in Europe will be Ursula von der Leyen so she'll probably be happy to see here name in the history books with the caption "Successfully pushed for wolves in Europe to be wiped out". Other countries for their own reason will follow Germany and France and we can see the words "Wolves now extinct" all over a map of Western Europe. 

With the question: "Why did wolves become extinct again in Europe?" there will be the answer: "Because the public sat on their fat asses and did nothing"

A Pre-Christmas Update

 As I trudge through more fox post mortem reports I am aware that some find that of no interest but at a time when we are seeing fox numbers...