In 2020 the British Fox and Wild Canids Study (f 1976) decided that the number of suspected
fox poisoning cases in the City of Bristol needed to be properly investigated. The attitude of "just foxes" had prevailed for too long and the number of deaths reported were either deliberate poisoning or indicators of some form of disease in foxes.
Necropsies (post mortems) were carried out at LangfordVeterinarySchool via Bristol University Post Mortem Services with results going to the Wildlife Network for Disease Surveillance and Animal Plant Health Advisory.
Although there were Road Traffic Accident cases far more was discovered about how various illnesses and diseases affect the British Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and as the only necropsy study of its kind carried out in the UK the possible reason for the increasing decline of the species appears to have been found as it claims cubs and young adult foxes lives every year.
As the first type of study in the UK this is groundbreaking and of interest to not just wildlife vets but wildlife rescue centres.
A lot has been happening behind the scenes at Badger Trust, and we can't wait to share it with you!🦡
From crucial meetings with Defra to the latest on legal challenges, cull petitions, and the arrival of our brilliant new ambassador - there's so much to catch up on. We also couldn't leave you empty handed on Valentine's Day, so we have a LOVE-ly offer exclusive for enews readers from our Teemill shop❤️
Legal Updates
Supplementary Cull with Wild Justice In collaboration with Wild Justice, we are still actively challenging Natural England and Defra's dismissal of their own scientific recommendations to halt the supplementary badger cull. With the next cull scheduled for June 2025, our efforts to prevent it remain unwavering.
Bern Convention with Born Free and Eurogroup for Animals Together with Born Free and Eurogroup for Animals, we are still pursuing the UK Government through the Bern Convention process, aiming to cease the cull due to its detrimental impact on a native species, potentially leading to local extinctions. We are advocating for the badger cull to be addressed in an upcoming Convention meeting and are urging the UK Government be made to justify its actions.
Sentience Committee with RSPCA and Born Free In partnership with Born Free and the RSPCA, we have submitted evidence to the UK Animal Sentience Committee concerning the badger cull, particularly focusing on the inhumane practice of free shooting. We argue that this constitutes an unwarranted attack on a native species, employing methods that are both cruel and unjustifiable.
The Labour government has introduced a new strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which includes initiatives such as a badger population study and vaccination programs. They have also committed to ending the badger cull by the end of the parliamentary term and plan to consult with relevant organisations on this approach.
Badger Trust is among the wildlife groups consulting on the government's new bTB strategy.
Meetings with Defra Badger Trust, along with other members of Wildlife and Countryside Link, has engaged in two meetings with Defra officials. During these discussions, we have advocated for an immediate end to the cull and emphasised the importance of focusing on cattle-related measures, including cattle vaccination. Cattle are overwhelming spreaders of the disease and this is backed up by government data (94% of bTB transmission), therefore we firmly believe that new policies should prioritise this area. We will continue to engage constructively with Defra, submitting proposals and evidence on bTB as requested.
Protect the Wild petition - Help it reach 100,000!
Badger Trust supports the Protect the Wild petition, which seeks to gather 100,000 signatures to prompt a parliamentary debate on the badger cull. Currently, the petition has over 54,000 signatures. We encourage you to sign and share it widely to urge the government to explain why they are continuing with this cruel cull, despite their election manifesto saying it was ineffective.
The total number of badgers reported dead due to suspected car strike in Bristol during 2024 stands at 68.
The total number of foxes reported dead, injured and died, etc. in the City of Bristol stands at 268.
These were the ones reported and in a number of cases we would not have known about the deaths other than third parties casually mentioning seeing these animals as having been reported dead (which we then had to confirm) or people complaining that they wanted a dead fox moved as they were "filthy" or "a nuisance".
Based on the usual standards for estimating such things we believe that the actual fox death figure stands at over 300. For the badgers we estimate a true figure would be more like 100. It seems that the public as well as members of local wildlife groups have no interest in badgers, foxes, otters or deer fatalities in and around the City but we ARE very grateful for those who do forward information. Oddly, pet and vegan group members are the best reportees.
Since the 31st of December we have had one dead fox reported each day with the 5th being the exception.
After five years of constantly reporting/posting on groups in the City and around it we are still not getting through to those members of wildlife groups and other than photo opportunities badgers and foxes appear to be barely of interest or tolerated.
In the past two years Sarah Mills, "The Bristol Fox Lady" has led the way in treating facial and other injuries as well as mange in foxes in situ without the need to trap and confine. Just how successful this work is can be seen in the fact that well over 500 foxes have been treated and survived and even vets are beginning to be more open to helping out -sadly not all vets as there is still an attitude of "We won't touch wildlife" even when a seriously injured animal needs to be put out of its suffering. It is nice when you hear vets and others mentioning that they see fewer cases of mange and that is down to Sarah's all weather work.
The success of in situ treatment is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise depressing year of recording constant wildlife death on the roads where speeding still contributes to the death toll.
People keep posting online and saying that hedgehogs are recovering after being Red Listed. I keep telling them that the species has not recovered. I wish they had as hedgehogs are one of the species I have looked at since the 1970s and in the mid 1990s raised concerns about declining numbers but no one really gave a damn.
Now we know and it is grim. If you are interested in hedgehogs please read this report. The map says it all, though.
Shocking badger cull film on BBC will prompt anger like Post Office scandal drama, claims Queen star Brian May
Queen guitaristBrian Maysays a “shocking “ film he has made dismantling some of the science behind the long-runningbadger cullwill provoke the same outrage in viewers as thePost Officescandal drama.
The programme, which comes two days after the government performed a U-turn on its pre-election pledge to halt the cull, contains “dynamite” revelations, according to one scientist who has seen it.
Sir Brian says the broadcast on BBC2 today at 9pm will change cattle farming forever by helping farmers defeat bovine Tuberculosis (bTB), saving their cattle and their livelihoods.
Brian May says the programme has to be shocking (Getty Images)
It is estimated more than 230,000 badgers have been killed since the badger cull began in England in 2013, in an attempt to eradicate bTB, whose spread governments have blamed on badgers.
Filming for the programme looks at how slurry can spread the disease and how specialist vet Dick Sibley drastically reduced bTB at Gatcombe Farm in Devon through sanitation techniques.
Farming industry bodies have expressed alarm at the programme. National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw wrote to the BBC before the broadcast, disputing the science in the documentary.
He said: “I am also extremely concerned the impact this programme will have on the mental health of farmers who are still impacted by this terrible disease on farm.”
The farmer-funded Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said it feared the show risked oversimplifying a complex issue, “potentially misleading viewers by placing undue blame on cattle”.
But the programme-makers say the “heartbreaking” testaments of farmers featured show government policy has failed them.
Sir Brian said: “A lot of people who have seen it have said they felt outraged like they did after seeing the Post Office documentary.”
That documentary, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, prompted nationwide anger, leading to wrongly convicted subpostmasters being cleared and compensation payments fast-tracked.
At least 230,000 English badgers have been killed (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The 77-year-old added: “It’s pretty shocking, but it had to be… Yes – some will pour disbelief and abuse in our heads, but history will prove us right. And our revelations will help farmers solve a horrific problem which has so far resisted solution.”
He said he and his Save Me Trust charity believed they could finally establish the “absolute innocence of badgers and the insanity of killing them”.
The trust says the culls are cruel to farmers, cattle and badgers.
This week, government body Natural England launched a consultation on a new round of badger culling in Cumbria, and it is understood others in Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire or Oxfordshire could be next.
The Labour government is relying on the same civil servants for bTB advice as the Tories did, and wants earlier reports to be redone, according to longtime badger campaigner and Lib Dem former election candidate Dominic Dyer.
“None of them will put their careers on the line and admit they were wrong,” said Dominic Dyer.
The Badger Trust said government departments were “not fit for purpose” and needed an overhaul to end misinformation and confusion for farmers.
“Defra has knowingly focused on an ineffective badger culling policy in an unsuccessful attempt to control bTB, whilst failing to provide vital information and support to farmers and vets to help them get out of this situation,” it said.
The Badger Crowd has crowdfunded to launch a judicial review to challenge badger culling, to which the government is due to respond next week.
Peter Hambly, chief executive of the Badger Trust, said: “It is clear that, like everyone else involved in this debacle, the farmers have been badly let down by misinformation and distractions.”
The AHDB said it worried that the disease control measures highlighted in the programme are portrayed as a universal solution but that they are unrealistic for farms to implement.
“TB transmission varies significantly from farm to farm and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this devastating disease. It has come to light that unfortunately, the suggested solution promoted has not been effective,” it said.
Natural England has licensed cull extensions to kill up to 28,000 badgers this autumn, according to ecologist Tom Langton, of the Badger Crowd, who said the BBC programme included “dynamite” revelations.
Minister for food security and rural affairs Daniel Zeichner said: “Bovine tuberculosis has been a tragedy for famers, vets and conservationists with thousands of cattle lost to the disease and badgers culled.”
Tackling the disease was his top priority, he said, adding: “I am clear that we will beat bTB and end the cull once and for all, as we committed to doing in our manifesto.
“I will be working at pace and in partnership with farmers, vets, conservationists and scientists to bring step change to build an ambitious eradication package that protects both livelihoods and wildlife and stamps out this awful disease.”
Keir Starmer and Steve Reed met with farmers before the general election and were all smiles and handshakes. Odd for two men who detested the badger cull and wanted it stopped.
I believe they, and that means the Labour Party is also tainted, made a deal with farmers for votes and to date both men and the Labour Party has refused to respond to voters asking what is going on.
They cannot stop the culls until 2026 as they are "honouring" contracts. What they mean is that rather than pay out for stopping the cull they are willing to see the 300,000 badgers already killed joined by thousands more if they can find them.
You see DEFRA has given a maximum number to be killed and a much lower number if there are not enough badgers found. That in itself indicates that the badger population is reaching or has reached a point that the Tory government and former Prime Minister Sunak wanted to achieve: the eradication of all badgers.
We lose thousands each year on the roads. We do not know how many are killed illegally but we know it goes on and not just on private estates.
What I have warned about for the last few years is becoming a reality; eradication of badgers in England.
By the 2030s urban badgers will be all we have left and when that goes down in the history books Reed, Starmer and the Labour Party can be credited with completing the work of the Conservative government'. And lovers of killing animals get enough money to buy the new cars and purchase properties.
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