Public Interfering When A wildlife rescuer is treating an animal

A member of the public should not interfere with a rescuer who is treating wildlife in the UK. Interfering could be considered animal cruelty, as it may harm the animal and prevent it from receiving proper care. If you are concerned about an animal's welfare or think a rescuer is not acting properly, you should contact the RSPCA for advice and to report a potential issue

Reasons to not interfere

• Potential for harm: 

  Moving or touching a wild animal can cause it additional stress, injury, or pain. It can also expose the rescuer to injury or zoonotic diseases. 
• Wildlife rescue ethics: 

  The general principle is to allow the wildlife rescue to be handled by trained professionals to minimize human interference and ensure the animal's best interests are served. 
• Legal implications: 

  Interfering with a rescuer could be considered a form of animal cruelty, especially if the rescuer is in the process of providing care to a wild animal. 
• Professional expertise: 

  A wildlife rescuer is trained to handle the animal and provide the necessary care, so a member of the public should not attempt to take over or disrupt their work. 

What to do if you are concerned

• Contact the RSPCA: 

  If you are concerned about a rescuer's actions, you should report it to the RSPCA for investigation.
• Monitor the situation from a safe distance: 

  If you are not able to contact the RSPCA immediately, you should keep a safe distance and observe the situation without interfering.
• Do not intervene: 

  Unless the situation is critical and the rescuer is not responding, do not attempt to take over the situation yourself. 

NEVER Wait -Act Without Delay

When the environment and wildlife are under threat I have learnt after two decades that there are two ways to deal with authorities. The Left Hand and the Right Hand.

The Left is ever so polite and simply states facts trying to be as polite as possible.

The Right is the sledge hammer. I basically stop being "ever so polite" but am polite while showing my teeth. The Right Hand rarely fails.

I was alerted to a recent development but had no photos of badgers setts, no area plans showing where badgers were so as that stood I had nothing to back me up. However, I knew about badgers at the site in the 1970s and while people tend to be uninterested in them I am.

I found that BRERC had a record of badgers and though they would not give the exact location the term they used identified the spot.

The person from the old Avon Badger Group refused to allow me to see maps and info the group had gathered pre 1994 and told me "I shall proudly take them to my grave" -the logic there escapes me.

It happens that one person contacted me ands though unconnected to the group involved gave me a lot of info on badgers on the site in question.

THAT gave me ammunition.

I was polite for as long as possible but the council ignoring things I posted on all my blogs and social media, emailed and poked DEFRA, Natural England, and more for two weeks -even threatening exposure of the auction house (who claimed it was a Bristol company auctioning the site) trying to sell land illegally by not declaring badger setts.

I literally spammed several of the City Councillors who were involved with legalities and I posted here previously my "no more warnings" email to them.

Basically a couple weeks of morning until...morning and despite Chris Packham being seemingly uninterested (again) I tried everything.

I am now told that the auction is off. A little bird at the Council tells me I am a very unliked dirty word now. My big bow out fight back.

I am now awaiting the kick back ("they are going to be causing problems") as BCC do not like me and just lost £400K

Never EVER wait until it is too late to contact someone to help take action but if you do reach out you better make bloody sure you share the information you have.

Bristol City Council and Badger Sett Destruction

  This is the thing that is happening and BCC KNOW they are lying which is why they never respond to evidence or emails presented. DEFRA should be informed by the locals

The attitude of Councils seems to be "Say Nothing. Do Nothing!"

 

See previous posts on this matter. The attitude of Parish and City Council (Green Party Council no less) seems to be silence.

sent to:

"cllr.mharris@longashtonparishcouncil.gov.uk"

"cllr.james@longashtonparishcouncil.gov.uk"

"cllr.abarrett@longashtonparishcouncil.gov.uk

"cllr.jfenton@longashtonparishcouncil.gov.uk"

"cllr.dwilkinson@longashtonparishcouncil.gov.uk"

Hello.

I contacted all of you on the 23rd September and so far have received no responses.

I asked that an ecological survey be carried out on the Long Ashton side of the Longmoor development. In 1998 Wessex Conservancy surveyed the area and noted badger setts (badgers have always been in the area and I first came across them in the 1970s) as well as bat nesting sites and since that time otters have returned to Colliter's Brook.

The impact of the building to be undertaken and possible pollution of water sources such as Colliter's Brook cannot be overlooked. I have been involved with wildlife as a mammalogist since 1974 and I know that these things do occur even if accidental. We lose enough protected and unprotected species each year and any and all efforts should be made to ensure that new developments do not pose a threat.

I would ask that an ecological survey is carried out to map out setts, etc. and offer suggestions. Development over our dwindling wildlife is not justifiable.

The Long Ashton side of Longmoor will be monitored but I would hope that Long Ashton Parish Council would share the concerns of some of its parishioners.

Regards

Terry Hooper

Bristol Badger Group (f 1994)

British Fox and Wild Canid Study (1974)

and

Sent to:

"Councillor Martin Fodor" <cllr.martin.fodor@bristol.gov.uk>; "Councillor Heather Mack" <cllr.heather.mack@bristol.gov.uk>; "Councillor Ed Plowden" <cllr.ed.plowden@bristol.gov.uk>; "Councillor Tony Dyer" <cllr.tony.dyer@bristol.gov.uk>; "Councillor Carla Denyer" <cllr.carla.denyer@bristol.gov.uk>

Hello.

I sent you all an email detailing the fact that the Longmoor development might impact on local badgers and otters as well as other protected species. Your response was silence.

I noted the proposal to sell off part of Eastville Park for development and that this area had established badger setts going back decades that would be impacted by development. Your response was again silence. The auctioneers have failed, despite being told, to note that the area is on active badger sett land -this should be legally declared but has not and BCC...silence again.

There is also knotweed on the nearby area. BCC -silence.

Three times this year BCC workers have destroyed dens with fox cubs in -they knew the den and cubs were there but state BCC told them they HAD to do the work. Do I really need to point out to you that this is a wildlife crime which is prosecutable?

Last week we were contacted as builders were pouring cement on a structure with an established badger sett beneath it. The concrete was broken, under our instruction, and we have camera monitored the site.

This is just part of a long list of Labour and now Green Party flouting of the law. I have tried repeatedly and politely to alert you to these matters but a line has now been drawn.

In future any suspected badger setts or fox dens must be surveyed to ensure that they are not being lived in or contain young. We can do that for BCC so it does not cost. As of 5th October, 2025 any action by BCC employees or contractors over active den/sett sites will be immediately reported to Avon and Somerset Police as a wildlife crime. The RSPCA will also be informed along with DEFRA. The sites in question (Eastville and Longmoor) are all monitored.

I have been trying to sort this out with BCC for 10 years now and we lose enough wildlife on our roads in Bristol but the local authority adding to deaths is unacceptable. I might have expected this from a Labour BCC but a Green Party run BCC?

All of this is a matter of public record now so ignore the emails but it won't help avoid legal action.

Terry Hooper

Chairman Bristol Badger Group f. 1994

RIP Jane Goodall 3rd April 1934-1st October 2025

 

Jane Goodall, known for her pioneering studies of chimpanzees, has died aged 91.

A post on her institute's Instagram page said she died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday morning while in Los Angeles for a speaking tour.

"Dr. Goodall's discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world," said the post.

Bristol City Council Is Now Under Warning

 

Since 2018 I have communicated with Bristol City Council both L:abour and Green Party. I have tried to show and explain all the data on wildlife deaths on our streets as well as threats to our Green spaces (when there are plenty of Brown sites.

They tried the "Oh, isn't that just terrible. Nothing we can do" response but when their own commitment to the environment and "Green Bristol" is quoted back at them they just ignore messages. I am considered, in one source's words "a pain in the ass conservationist" (that quote from a Green Councillor so I'll claim that one).

I have had badger setts interfered with, fox dens with cubs destroyed -all knowing what wildlife was present and claiming ignorance of any laws. One contractor "We just get told what to do by the Council and that's it" -the "I was only following orders" defence went out the window in 1945.

The Council is currently trying to sell off land for £400K to developers that has identified and decades old badger setts on it. The auctioneer of the land has illegally not noted that the land has badger setts on it. That must be declared.

I contacted BCC as well as as many Long Ashton Parish councillors as I could find to object to the expansion of the Longmoor "new suburb" into an area with established badger setts and other wildlife including otters. Who I contacted is on the record and I can tell you that after two weeks not one of those persons has responded

https://bristolbadgergroup.blogspot.com/2025/09/longmoor-development-and-impact-on.html

Filling in badger setts without a proper survey is also known.

I have tried and tried but this now has to stop. If you know of badger setts or active fox dens being blocked or destroyed (foxes mainly in cub season when they are protected) then get in touch with the police on 111 and let me know. It is important to get as much photographic/video evidence as possible to back up claims.

From now on I will be reporting every infringement of the law by the City Council, contractors working for them, etc., and they will need to face the consequences.

The Numbers Rise

 

Yesterday I announced that the number of KNOWN dead foxes reported in Bristol stood at 300 (the highest figure recorded in recent years). This morning I added 4 more to that number.

Badgers deaths (known) now totals 76.

Thankfully I do not record every species killed on the roads though I can add one otter into the mix.

If these deaths were all related to pet dogs being killed by speeding cars that do not even stop to check if the animal is dead or report hitting them so someone can check -there would be a public outcry. The fact that there isn't is what helps the Bristol City (Green Party run) Council and South Gloucestershire ignore things....and those biscuits and cups of tea take a lot of concentration.

This is Bristol so if we have lost a (known) 304 what are the losses like elsewhere. Some idiot at The Guardian writes that there is a fictional boom in the fox population while those in the know believe we have lost 60-65% of the UK fox population.

With new government regulations for development that it wants to push through Parliament badger protection (such as it is) will be gone. Badgers have lost over 50% of their population.

By the 2030s foxes, badgers and hedgehogs will be a rare sight -where they have not become extinct.