The current update on fox and badger deaths in and around the City and County is:
135 foxes and 52 badgers.
I have not started a deer deaths register or one for any other mammal/birds other than otters.
People still seem to not be willing to report dead badgers or foxes and I assume the stress of typing a message is far too much for some people.
We have had three fox cubs trapped in netting in gardens in the last week and, luckily, Sarah Mills (The Bristol Fox Lady) got to them fast and all three were taken to Vale Wildlife Hospital in Gloucestershire and are doing fine.
The danger to wildlife of paddling pools left overnight without being emptied needs to also be highlighted as we have lost some fox cubs in these. Left6 full of water overnight is a danger to wildlife as well as children and some adults.
There was been no sign of the pair of hedgehogs that visited nightly for over a week now which is concerning. Neighbours are far from interested in stating whether they have seen any hogs.
Birds continue to visit and insect life seems to be doing well and not just in my garden.
Slow worms are also being reported more these days from a round Bristol so they seem to be doing well. Again, I need to point out that slow worms are non-venomous legless lizards and seeing them in your garden is an indicator that the garden is healthy.
I am still looking into the use of electrical wiring and "deterrents" to keep otters away from fish ponds. It is far more advisable to look at ways to cover your fish ponds as use of electrical devises could involve a fine if caught.
The other "perennial problem" for people with fish ponds are herons. This was first reported in Ashton Vale back in the 1990s when people with large gardens decided that ponds would look nice. Unfortunately, if you put heron and otter food (fish) into ponds then you need to protect the fish.
There are some very belligerent pond owners who "think out loud" in posts about what they can do to "dispose" of herons. These people need to understand that herons are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. And it is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, or take them. This includes destroying their nests while they are in use or being built, or taking or destroying their eggs.
Penalties for violating this law can include fines or even imprisonment.
We have built on wildlife territory and then place food out for them (even if unintentionally) and then see then as "pests" or, as several people have described them, "vermin". Firstly, they are not "pests" -you create the pond and put the fish in to show off then you need to study how to protect them. The term £vermin" has never been used by any faction other than pro hunt groups because "game of the chace" (yes, spelt "chace") was too long winded for them.
Someone asked about the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. This is in fact, as the use of the word "game" in its title indicates, a pro hunt group so I have NOTHING to do with them or their schemes which at one point involved radio collaring a fox to see where it went before killing it "just because) (it was out in woodland and had been living off rats, etc so was causing no problems but if you are a psycho with a gun who likes killing wildlife....
Learn to live with wildlife not try to injure or destroy it.
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