Ashton Vale & Bristol Wildlife Group f 1994

For those interested

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/315237280619688

Is There Negative Local Authority Kick-back On Wildlife Work? YES

 

 I was asked if I wasn't worried that I might get kick-back from the council over what I do?

I have had the council harassing me for years and since I started the Fox Deaths Project (which Bristol City Council stated they would assist in) and rodenticide use was mentioned...and the council allowing people on its allotments to use rodenticide despite other tenant complaints I have certainly had "kick-back".

Since I started on the wildlife corridors the harassment has picked up. Of course, nothing in writing but utter silence on every issue and a sudden "we need to remind you of your tenancy agreement" and not one single outstanding repair has been carried out in 7 years....?

About 8 years ago, after I made a formal complaint about council contractors ripping up a roadside hedgerow that had nesting birds in it as well as destroying crow nests in trees, two council officials (one was head of the department) visited and told me that every tree in my garden would need cutting down and that where I lived was "due for demolition in the next three years" anyway. The "nasty one" was trying to intimidate with aggressive pointing at me and raising his voice until I explained that he had better lower his tone and explained where I would be placing his finger if he continued..oh, and flower pots in the garden were a health and safety issue so needed removal. Long story short I got a full written apology from head of estate management over their harassing behaviour and pointing out that everything they had said was untrue.

A month later they tried it again. Pro wildlife and conservation has made me an enemy of the council since the 1990s so I get used to it! But we should be working together but those lucrative contracts....

I was once told that two badges I wear "will get you in trouble one day!"

Too late

I mention all of this as I think it worth showing how nasty Bristol City Council ("champions for the environment") can get and the dirty tricks they employ and get away with -like promising to leave green spaces alone and then trying to slip through construction on those sites -money talks.

Oh and because I used to be handed sick and injured pigeons the anti-wildlife folk left little messages. A dead crow one time and this at my front gate one morning

Do not expect an easy ride if you get into wildlife work and always expect more negative than positive.

I Am Not Joining The Badger Survey

 

 It seems that I need to make my as well as a few others' decision to not take part in the Badger Trust Survey to find setts.  

Firstly, I have nothing personal against the Trust but being honest they have pushed for an end to the badger cull and many other things and I have signed their petitions and...nothing. I know after over forty years that you can have a petition signed to overflowing and the response will be that "The House has a full roster of items for this Parliamentary session" and the rest of the response is that the petition will be considered later. That is, to put it crudely, a "piss off not interested".

You can get anti-snaring, anti-trail hunting and anything else fully signed or even thousands more signatures than required and the same thing.  They did the same with the Brexit petition which has still never been discussed and neither has the anti-snaring petition and numerous others. It's a joke.

I am not a member of the Badger Trust because I do not feel the need to pay £50 to be registered so that I and the Bristol Badger Group can go on doing what it has been doing since 1994 but be placed on a member group map.

When it comes to a national survey to list badger setts I refuse to take part. Again, I have no idea who would handle the data gathered and saying everyone must sign a non Disclosure agreement means nothing. Who handles and collates and puts the data on computer? Who sees the data because if you state fact you will need to back it up and that means disclosing information. As a signee of the PAWS -Partners Against Wildlife Crime- I saw how that was twisted and changed whenever DEFRA felt like it. The one reason I signed off of it was because I was told "You give us copies of all your records, maps and other data or else"

There is no such thing as 100% security and although it would be interesting to see what remains of badgers in England it would also highlight how many badgers/setts there are and that is useful to the cull -read the various posts on this blog about that.

After forty years I can tell anyone interested that wildlife conservation is a war. We are seeing 200,000 foxes and badgers killed on the road each year and you'll find a blog post about wildlife road deaths: We know that there are shooters that kill many foxes

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2024/01/how-many-animals-killed-on-uk-roads.html

We know that there are shooters that kill many foxes and other wildlife (including badgers) for 'fun' each week. We know there is snaring going on. And much more. Even the British Trust for Ornithology have stated that foxes may need to be Red Listed. 

I keep a rough location of badger setts in case a lactating sow is found dead and cubs need to be rescued and that information is given to me under strict confidentiality and trust and that is important -far more important than a survey that I know other badger people will not take part in.

Until the cull stops and full protection is given to badgers I do not intend to even roughly outline where a sett is. Snaring was made illegal in Wales but it is still going on. To me the safety of wildlife is far more important and that is why I do not cooperate with these things.

Badgers and foxes are heading for extinction, otters are being killed and we are fighting without the support of the public where 52,000 sign a petition to rescue a 'lonely sheep' while the death of 250,000 badgers does not get an eye lash to move.

Stop Talking: BUILD Wildlife Under/Overpasses

 Another badger and another fox death on the black spot known as Hick's Gate.

I have sent a response to Dan Norris's email:

"Hello.

"Thank you for your response.

"I have today received another fox and badger death report from the Hicks Gate stretch of road. The current number of foxes listed killed so far this year is 41 -in the start of cub season so vixens dying results in cubs dying. We have four badger deaths and, again, in cub season.

"People looking at the “issues” is fine but it calls for action as 250,000 badgers have already been culled in the UK and 100,000 per year are killed on the roads and even the British Trust for Ornithology is calling for the fox to be Red Listed now as it suffers similar road deaths each year as well as ‘sport’ shooting and snaring. The financial cost of wildlife corridors should not be the stumbling block. Species extinction is the problem and if we can help by even reducing road deaths then the environment and eco system reliant on these animals will not suffer.

"Apologies but recording death after death on an almost daily basis I see the urgency in resolving some of the problems.

Regards

Terry

British Fox and Canids Study (f 1977)"

The Claim: "Bristol University released mange infected foxes" -Time to address that rumour.

The one rumour that I kept hearing for a number of years was that the old Bristol University fox project had been paid by MAFF/DEFRA to release sarcoptic scabies (mange) in Bristol foxes to see how fast something like rabies would spread in an urban environment. No one was willing to publicly come forward to state this but Bristol plus foxes and, of course, I stuck my nose in.

I asked Bristol University whether it would be possible to view the former mammal group papers?  Despite a written letter and emails not a single response which, honestly, on the face of it seems slightly damning.  Bu8t I found a page talking about the new fox study and who was involved in the work. Nothing. I telephoned and got the impression that the person I spoke to thought I was a little nuts as there "hasn't been a fox project for years".

And online papers from the fox group are not available to anyone outside of a university or one of the qualifying institutions. I am used to this as over four decades of studying foxes, their history, health and so on, does not count. It only counts IF I am parft of an institution and my papers do no0t count form the same reason even if I am a named author on three papers from a university.

So this left the rumours to continue.

 Looking at Stephen Harris and Philip Baker's Urban Foxes book there are things that are quite off ; they state mange kills more foxes than cars. In 2023 alone over 250 foxes were reported as killed or fatally injured by cars. At the same time mange deaths seemed to be declining due to fast treatment. But then, there is a far better reporting system in place and it covers the City and County of Bristol not just North West Bristol.

But at one point this claim was true because up until 1994 mange was not reported in Bristol. That is the reason so many fox watchers who cared for minor injuries etc were caught off guard and could not help in 1994/1995.

I keep stating 94% of Bristol foxes were killed off but looking at some other data the 95%+ figure for the number of foxes that died does seem more accurate.

There have been rumours for a long time that Bristol Uni and its fox study deliberately released mange into the City as part of a study to see how fast rabies would spread as noted and while I may disagree with some of what Harris states I would never believe that he would do such a thing (a criticism (?) against him has been that he is an animal lover and a fox lover to boot).

If you read the item below you will find that the fox involved is said to have left the City and then returned with mange. I can find no evidence contradicting this account but Bristol University releasing any research material might back this up.

DEFRA removes pro-cull farmer from Bovine TB Partnership. Better Idea: STOP THE UNSCIENTIFIC CULL

 

It seems to pro hunt/cull crowd are in a bit of a panic. All of this in one short week. Desperation.

Read what the farmer in this story says. Basically he wants more culling and more areas subject to culling and anyone who objects is obviously a liberal politician. These people whinge and whine away because they know the scapegoat animal is not to blame and there are strong hunting connections and killing badgers can, as one shooter put it, "be a big earner".

And the great British 'animal loving' public sit on their asses watching TV and do not care less.

The Badger trust:

"Badgers are not to blame for bTB in cattle
Bovine TB is a respiratory disease in cattle. The primary transmission source is cattle to cattle. Yet badgers are still the starting point for blame.

"There are no examples of any self-sustaining reservoirs of bovine TB among badgers, even among the longest studied APHA research group at Woodchester (though these badgers appear to have been shot during the cull).

"Based on Defra monitoring, bovine TB is found in a wide variety of species other than cattle, including alpacas, badgers, cats, deer, dogs, foxes, mice, rats and sheep. It has even been found in single-celled organisms."

Read that bit again: ""There are no examples of any self-sustaining reservoirs of bovine TB among badgers, even among the longest studied APHA research group at Woodchester (though these badgers appear to have been shot during the cull). "

And there you have it. Political culling of badgers because what science was used to decide that a group of badgers tested and shown not to have TB needed to be culled to prevent TB? The cull is political and politicians pushing it against the scientific facts are in the pockets of large farmers and other countryside bodies who want shooting to continue for financial and also possible 'fun'.

People outside the UK are calling the badger the "scapegoat" and say the cull makes no sense.

250,000+ badgers "culled" on top of the 100,000 killed on roads every year and goodness knows how many killed in snares and illegal shooting.

Animal husbandry is what needs to be looked at and a viable alternative? Vaccination so why does the UK not do that?

"These are considered safe commodities. Live cattle: WOAH standards make no provision for vaccination of cattle against TB at present, as BCG vaccination interferes with internationally-accepted tuberculin-based tests which underpin current criteria for certifying herds free of TB."

So we want out of Europe etc and also have a vaccine but will not use it and killing wildlife is simpler and as these people know the cull IS political with political candidates getting backing from big farmers and financial contributions.

Badgers already face extinction and what if every badger is wiped out and BTB continues -foxes? Wipe them all out then...field mice?

Start at the source and where the responsibility lies; with the farmer.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/health-welfare/livestock-diseases/bovine-tb/defra-removes-pro-cull-farmer-from-bovine-tb-partnership

ALWAYS be tick aware!

 ALWAYS be tick aware!

I write this every year and every year I am accused of being a "Grass nazi" and wanting to have tall grass cut back but here goes nothing.

Early signs in affected dogs include change or loss of voice, lack of coordination of the hind legs, change in breathing rate and effort, gagging or coughing, vomiting, and dilated pupils. Signs occur 3–5 or 5–9 days after the tick attaches, depending on the type of tick involved.

Ticks will bite and feed on your dog or cat for up to a few days, and drop off once they've had enough. During this time, it's possible the tick could give your pet a disease. Ticks carry a serious bacterial infection called Lyme disease. Dogs, cats and humans can all get Lyme disease, although it's uncommon in cats.

This photograph is of an emaciated vixen Sarah Mills , the Bristol Fox Lady, attended earlier today. Note the number of ticks on the neck and it seems some have been scratched off.

If you feed foxes and can get a flea/tick med to it you will be doing it a favour.

When Is A Wildlife Rescue Centre NOT A Wildlife Rescue Centre ?

 

Bristol is in a wildlife crisis.

Apart from the continued use of rodenticides by the City council and the number of foxes, otters and badgers killed and injured there is a wildlife r5escue problem.

Sarah Mills (The Bristol Fox Lady) has helped to reduce the number of fox deaths from mange and even help injured foxes with no official funding -she is also asked to occasionally answer calls for Secret World. Why? Secret World gets a lot of donations and just a look at the amount of money invested in its "wildlife hospital" shows something is not right.

Simply put,unless they ask Secret World is not interested in foxes etc in Bristol. It supposedly has a wildlife hospital but Bristol has had to rely on Vale Wildlife Hospital in Oxfordshire to treat and also release foxes.

People reporting manged foxes are advised to contact Fox Angels for their mange treatment -a group based on the other side of the country.

In the last few years I have heard it all from Secret World from requesting a put to sleep note from vets who say animals passed on to them just need rest to recuperate to "our fox pens are full" when they are not down to "We don't have any drivers/volunteers/ambulances to answer the calls"

In short Secret World is not fit for purpose. It goes out of its way to make it awkward for people reporting injured foxes. In most other parts of the country wildlife rescues treat foxes with broken legs but Secret World told three people who contacted me that "Any fox admitted with a leg injury is pts as standard". My brother reported a fox with a leg injury two years ago and was told the same so I, as a member of the public, phoned SW and reported a fox frequenting the garden with a leg injury. What was I told? "Best to let nature take its course. Any leg injury fox is pts as standard"

So what is going on? They have had volunteers who work hard and at anti-social hours but it seems that is no longer the case. Secret World needs to note on its website that it will not treat sick or injured foxes.

Either that or Secret World needs to actually DO what it claims it will do rather than be known amongst other UK rescues as "The PTS Centre of England" (I did not even know it was called that until a year ago.

Donators need to be told exactly what Secret World will do because having to get people from Oxfordshire to help or mange meds from the other side of the country raises a lot of questions.

Pl;ease Look Out For Sick and Injured Badgers and Dead Sows With Cubs

 

To answer a question I set up the Bristol Badger Group in 1994/1995 after trying for months to contact the old group (apparently it had folded before 1994).

The BBG does not appear on the Badger Watch listing for the simple reason that I did not pay £50 to continue what I was doing and to just get listed.

Sick or injured badgers can be reported to Secret World but remember if it is sick or injured phone and do not use the online form.

https://www.secretworld.org/contact-us

Telephone: 01278 783250

If you have any other concerns let me know. If you see a dead badger please report it to me and if you can please check that it is not a lactating sow as there may be cubs that need finding and rescuing.

Please pass this along to anyone in Bristol.

Thank You

If Otter Deaths Are An Important Research Topic.... Maybe People Ought To Get Their Act Together?

Pretty angry about a message this morning from someone who "might"/"could"/"probably" and who then went on to explain how important his time was and that he had told some (no idea who) where the dead otter was...it was a mess of a message.

I have sent the following out to Bristol Nature Network and Bristol Naturalist Society on Face Book:

 "I was today contacted, as far as I can ascertain, not by a member of the Bristol Otter Group about the otter I confirmed as being dead on Friday. I was contacted after a discussion at an event (apparently) and it was reported that there was  a dead otter at a known blackspot -firstly for animal welfare and protection I do not give out locations of otters whether dead or alive and so the location was misinformation not originating from me.

"Last year I spent a great deal of time communicating with Bristol pathology and Cardiff university and in the end it was decided that otters should be diverted to Bristol where full post mortems could be carried out (such PMs are a rarity) and Cardiff got the samples it needed and this would give an overall picture of otter health -it would also save the otter group having to store the otters for a long period and then drive to Cardiff and back. I even had someone at the time who would drive out to collect the bodies for them since it can take 24-48 hours at best to get any response from them. I was given a public slap on the face (on this group) for having said the otter group agreed to this. I did not state that.

"The important thing is to get animals who are under study to a pathology lab asap. After a number of hours rigor mortis sets in and even in the current weather flies settle on carcasses and they become "maggot surprises" -we are all too familiar with that ion fox carcass retrievals. On the 2nd February I reported a confirmed otter death and posted here about it and that a vet was in possession of it. I believe that it was four days later I was asked which vet. Vets that are willing, and there are very few, to keep a dead animal in their freezer only do so for about 24 hours so unless a request is made to store for a day more then protocol kicks in and  the carcass is sent for disposal. So 3-4 days later the otter is gone.

"The current otter was reported and confirmed as an otter on Friday. If fly strike and other wildlife have not all started doing their work it would be a miracle. I kept a location map of both and awaited someone from the otter group to get in touch. As a field naturalist and the person recording fox and badger deaths in the area I tend to have something like a dead otter reported on the day of death. Fresh.

"I will keep recording any otter deaths an d make people aware of them but unless the otter group changes the way it works then these will also be lost. I learnt the lesson the hard way about collecting and submission so I hope protocols can be changed so that people are contactable and can go out to recover bodies asap.

"And 'thank you' to the person who contacted me and indeed MY time is equally as important with the workload I have."

Why get into wildlife work/projects if you are not going to bother?