A ‘very rare’ predator lurking in their garden -Some Notes and Pine Marten Releases in the 1990s

 This item is interesting as really the Pine marten should not have been where it was. We do know that there have been successful releases and litters around the UK of a mammal humans slaughtered on sight. But I have in my EAR files reports of pine martens in the 1990s and in the Somerset area where official groups told me (as if I was stupid so why report the matter) they were not. 

My sources were credible and experience persons -one a naturalist. Where exactly were these sightings in Somerset? Not telling because back then, as now, we know that there are plenty of people wanting to get rid of them illegally and, of course, the 'sportsmen' who want a rarity.

But how did the Somerset pine martens escape the attention of the people who should know they were there?  Simple; the "people who should know" were never told so could not take credit for the discovery and definitely could not, as they would have, given out a location. The other question is how long had the martens been at the locations?  We had no idea because anyone who sighted them kept quiet and myself and the naturalist involved decided to not even snoop around the areas in case we were seen.

In the 1990s I discovered the open secret that a group had been breeding and releasing pairs of European wildcats around the country to fill in the niche left by the actual extinct wild cats (including on the Scottish borders). Who were these people? Where did they get these cats? Organisations in the "know" did know but claimed that they did not but were aware of these cats in the areas reported.  It is also probable that this group released pine martens before the official release project. 

Today I have heard of pine marten being bred for the "exotic animal" trade rather as porcupines, meerkats, raccoon dogs and others are.  These animals do escape and I have reported on them in the past on the Exotic Animals Register blog as well as Face Book page.

Was this Scottish marten just lost or an escapee pet? It is highly probable that we will never know but I hope it finds suitable habitat soon.

A young Pine Marten at a feeding station in Scotland. © Gannet77/Getty

The Cool Down 

https://uk.yahoo.com/style/homeowner-discovers-very-rare-predator-073000665.html

Homeowner discovers ‘very rare’ predator lurking in their garden: ‘This may be a newsworthy sighting’

A Reddit user from Scotland recently spied a rare predator in their backyard.

They took to r/AnimalID to put a finger on the wily mammal, as it was threatening birds perched in the low limb of a tree.

In the 15-second video, the animal climbed atop a fence and looked around before scurrying away.

Photo Credit: u/Electronic_West2595 / Reddit

Users formed a consensus that the animal is a pine marten.

“It’s my understanding that those guys are currently very rare in Scotland,” one commenter wrote. “This may be a newsworthy sighting. I would strongly suggest you contact a local conservation agency and send them this footage. If he’s killing your birds they’ll likely relocate him for you.”

Another said: “Pretty cool to see them, they’re pretty shy most of the time. And rare these days.”

The creature was once found all over Britain, but it was hunted mercilessly until it was given legal protection in 1988, according to NatureScot. Scotland is now home to about 3,700 adult pine martens.

Pine martens prefer to live in woodlands, often in hollow trees, old squirrel, or old bird nests, and require 86 to 166 hectares (213 to 410 acres) of territory. They survive on rodents, birds, eggs, insects, and fruit.

“The Scottish Wildlife Trust has been running a successful pine marten recovery programme, and sightings of these elusive creatures are becoming more common,” according to Experience Scotland’s Wild.

The pine marten population in Northern Ireland is bouncing back as well, nearly doubling in five years, the BBC reported in May.

The species could also help the red squirrel population, as those native rodents have adapted to live among pine martens, while the invasive gray squirrel has not.

“They say that once a squirrel could run from one side of Europe to the other without touching the ground, leaping from tree to tree,” one user wrote. “And that he’d be followed the whole way by a hungry pine marten.”

Another said: “They are amazing creatures. Definitely bring any cats and small livestock indoors. Do not approach because they are sometimes cranky. Call a wildlife management official if you don’t want it around.”

Always The Negative News On Wildlife Rescues -some personal comments

 The fact that wildlife rescues of varying sizes are closing down around the UK and that thousands of animals may suffer or simply face being put down for minor injuries does not interest the press and media. It just is not a "sexy" enough news story.

Now, someone running a wildlife rescue who has embezzled £190, 000 is a "very sexy" story worth posting everywhere.

With £190,000 Bristol could get the wildlife rescue it desperately needs. Any town or city could get a much needed sanctuary-cum-wildlife rescue. But yet another rescue is in the news and we know what stories like this do: it makes possible donators think that their money is going to be used for someone's personal gain and not in treating wildlife. Rather than give an over view of wildlife rescues to balance things out all they do is report on "the crook".

And what the **** was he thinking he was doing?  He has now blighted any and every rescue going as people are not going to "throw money away" to embezzlers. And at a time when the fight for wildlife rescue and treatment is critical and people are already few and far between in helping rescues.

This is something we just do not need. 

Wildlife sanctuary owner used £190,000 of donations to buy himself a house

The Telegraph https://uk.yahoo.com/style/wildlife-sanctuary-owner-used-190-130743229.html

Chris Tucker is a former animal rights activist who was jailed in 1992 for an attack on a McDonald’s restaurant - Simon Jones/News Group Newspapers Ltd

The owner of a wildlife sanctuary has been convicted of fraud after using tens of thousands of pounds of public donations to buy a house.

Chris Tucker, 59, a former animal rights activist who was jailed in 1992 for an attack on a McDonald’s restaurant, was convicted on Friday at Lewes Crown Court of fraudulently using £190,000 of public donations to pay for his own property. He is due to be sentenced next month.

The money was raised for Bexhill and Hastings Wildlife Rescue and Sanctuary between 2017 and January 2019, which Tucker claimed would help to secure his semi-detached house – where it is based – in a trust or community interest company.

He added that the money would be safeguarded officially for good causes and not benefit him or anyone else personally.

However, in November 2019, police received an allegation that Tucker had used the public-generated funds to buy out his ex-partner and take sole ownership of the property.

Tucker, of Chantry Avenue, Bexhill, was arrested and subsequently charged with fraud by false representation.

He denied the offence, but it was proven that he acted dishonestly in order to acquire a valuable property in his sole name.

After the verdict, Detective Constable Jake O’Reilly said: “In November 2019, Sussex Police were contacted following an allegation that Tucker had made promises to sign over his property to a trust which would oversee the future running of Bexhill and Hastings Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue if enough money could be raised by supporters.

“When this amount was achieved, it was alleged that Tucker had then acted dishonestly and taken sole control of a large property where the rescue is based.

“The result of this fraud was that Tucker had acquired a large mortgage-free house and the rescue – which is not a registered charity – was not safeguarded by an independent trust which would make collective decisions on its future.”

‘Long and complex fraud enquiry’

Police Investigator Peters, who pieced together the investigation between 2019 and 2023, added: “This was a long and complex fraud enquiry involving a vast amount of donations and donors who were not given a true account of what would happen to their money. I am pleased justice has been served.”

On Monday 9 October, at Hove Crown Court, Tucker was further convicted of one count of contempt of court in relation to messages posted on social media, which he pleaded guilty to, and his sentencing was adjourned to Friday 10 November 2023.

In 1992, Tucker was jailed for 15 months after he terrorised staff and customers by throwing what appeared to be a bomb across the counter of a crowded McDonald’s restaurant in Kensington, west London.

The court heard that Tucker, who had several previous convictions involving animal rights activities, threw the canister after asking a staff member whether they killed animals in the restaurants.

After he was convicted, Tucker was banned from entering all McDonald’s restaurants in Britain.

Last night, Tucker told the Telegraph that he was ashamed of his past, adding: “I admit what I did at McDonald’s was disgusting and inexcusable. I should never have done it.”

He said he was now making arrangements to sign over half of his house to the wildlife charity.

Rats -A Solution Without Cruelty and Its Safe For Predators

People ask whether rats are a problem in the UK? The simple answer is yes. The brown (Rattus norvegicus) and black (Rattus rattus ) rats are the only two species in the UK if we ignore the number of exotic rodents being bred here and just concentrate on the wild ones. We can only estimate so a figure may be exaggerated but the one seemingly accepted is a population of 250 million. 

Even with a suggested lifespan of only 2-3 years a female rat typically births six litters a year consisting of up to 12 rat pups, although 5-10 pups are more common. Rats reach sexual maturity after nine weeks, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially.

The natural predator of the rat in the countryside, villages, towns and cities are the cat (these days feral cats probably take more rats than pet cats) and the fox. Owls and hawks will also take rats and this is where the problems begin for wildlife because the solution of most local authorities is to use rodenticides and secondary poisoning of predators is a major problem.

If you listen to pest control companies, who have a large financial interest in the matter, rodenticides are the best solution. I have had three pest control officers from Bristol tell me to my face that the poison they use does not affect wildlife and no other animal can be affected by ingesting poisoned rats. An outright lie. By supermarkets and shops you tend to see metal boxes attached to lamp posts and these are designed so that if the rat enters it is "zapped" and killed. 

There is one shopping area near me where these traps are always smashed. I found out that locals were doing this as curious small birds were entering the traps and being killed and the final straw was an electrocuted hedgehog. Figures on small wildlife killed by these traps is not available and if you try to search for that information all you will get is page after page of pest control adverts, recommendations.  People on The Red Island tend not to care because "out of sight out of mind".

There are various mouse and rat traps that can maim and leave a rodents to die slowly and the larger traps, as with the "zappers" and these are again deadly to small mammals.

Back in the 1970s I was reading in a German magazine how a small town had cut its rat population right down and I guessed more poisoning and trapping but I was wrong. Someone had suggested, and the local authority approved the idea, that bait with some chemical in it be placed out for rats and the chemical was a contraceptive one. I have tried over the years to find the article or the town and failed -even with the internet.  The question is whether it is better to sell off the shelf rodenticides to the public who have no idea how to use it or for local authorities to employ pest control people who then use rodenticide or use something that will affect the rats and no other wildlife?

Yes, pest controllers are heavily invested in the use of poisons so that would affect their livelihood but at this point in time we have to start thinking about wildlife which is being killed in droves as well as the effect on the environment.  I have already discussed elsewhere how you can get rats out of your home without poison here

 https://athomewithwildnature.blogspot.com/2021/05/so-lets-talk-about-rats.html

And research work has been carried out of how to use a contraceptive in bait to deal with rodents and there is a paper on the matter -Fertility Control for Wildlife: A European Perspective by Giovanna Massei https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9913817/

Quote:

"ContraPest® is a liquid contraceptive designed to reduce fertility in rats and delivered in a tray, placed inside a box, to minimise use by non-target species [78]. ContraPest suppresses fertility in males, by preventing sperm maturation and motility, and in females, by decreasing the number of eggs that are ovulated [79,80]. This contraceptive must be delivered daily for at least 50 days in order to inhibit production of litters for around three successive breeding rounds, as shown in captive studies with Norway rats [81,82]. In this species ContraPest decreased the weight of reproductive organs but had no effect on adrenal, kidney, spleen and liver weights compared to control animals [82]. The efficacy and potential side effects of ContraPest on free-living rats has not been reported, as only information on the efficacy of ContraPest combined with a rodenticide is available [78].

"EP-1, based on synthetic steroids, has been proved to inhibit the fertility of males and females of many rodent species in China, Tanzania, Zambia, and Indonesia [83,84,85,86,87] in captivity and field trials. In several species, a treatment period of about 7 days in laboratory studies or a single baiting with EP-1 in field conditions, are sufficient to induce infertility [87]. In females the most common response to EP-1 is an enlargement of the uterus which result in reduced conceptions and/or litter sizes. In males EP-1 inhibits the function of the testis, epididymis and seminal vesicles for different periods of time depending on the dose [75,87] and in both sexes the effects are temporary and fully reversible. Side effects of these synthetic hormones in rodents include production of smaller pups in striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius) dosed with EP-1 [88] and in Brandt’s vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii) treated with quinestrol [74]. EP-1, widely tested on many rodent species, has not been used in field trials in Europe and its use might not be acceptable until the potential effects of the hormones on the food chain and on the environment have been assessed."

References cited

77. Pellizzari M. Control of pigeon numbers through contraception. Internat. Pest Control. 2017;59:20–22. [Google Scholar]

78. Pyzyna B.R., Trulove N.F., Mansfield C.H., McMillan R.A., Ray C.N., Mayer L.P. ContraPest®, A new tool for rodent control. In: Woods D.M., editor. Proceedings of the 28th Vertebrate Pest Conference. University of California; Davis, CA, USA: 2018. pp. 284–286. [Google Scholar]

79. Mayer L.P., Pearsall N.A., Christian P.J., Devine P.J., Payne C.M., McCuskey M.K., Hoyer P.B. Long-term effects of ovarian follicular depletion in rats by 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide. Reprod. Toxicol. 2002;16:775–781. doi: 10.1016/S0890-6238(02)00048-5. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

80. Mayer L.P., Devine P.J., Dyer C.A., Hoyer P.B. The follicle-deplete mouse ovary produces androgen. Biol. Reprod. 2004;71:130–138. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.103.016113. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

81. Witmer G.W., Raymond-Whish S., Moulton R.S., Pyzyna B.R., Calloway E.M., Dyer C.A., Mayer L.P., Hoyer P.B. Compromised fertility in free feeding of wild-caught Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) with a liquid bait containing 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide and triptolide. J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 2017;48:80–90. doi: 10.1638/2015-0250.1. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

82. Witmer G.W., Raymond-Whish S. Reduced fecundity in free-ranging Norway rats after baiting with a liquid fertility control bait. Hum. Wildl. Interact. 2021;15:111–123. [Google Scholar]

83. Imakando C., Fernández-Grandon M., Singleton G.R., Belmain S.R. Impact of fertility vs. mortality control on the demographics of Mastomys natalensis in maize fields. Integr. Zool. 2021;17:1028–1040. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

84. Selemani M., Makundi R., Massawe A.W., Mhamphi G., Mulungu L.S., Belmain S.R. Impact of contraceptive hormones on the reproductive potential of male and female commensal black rats (Rattus rattus) Integr. Zool. 2021;17:991–1001. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12563. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

85. Stuart A.M., Herawati N.A., LIU M., Zhang Z., Singleton G.R., Hinds L.A. Reproductive responses of rice field rats (Rattus argentiventer) following treatment with the contraceptive hormones, quinestrol and levonorgestrol. Integr. Zool. 2022;17:1017–1027. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12598. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

86. Massawe A.W., Makundi R.H., Zhang Z., Mhamphi G., Liu M., Li H.J., Belmain S.R. Effect of synthetic hormones on reproduction in Mastomys natalensis. J. Pest Sci. 2018;91:157–168. doi: 10.1007/s10340-017-0894-4. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

87. Liu M., Wan X., Yin Y., Li Y.X., Sun F., Zhang Z., Wang Y.L. Subfertile effects of quinestrol and levonorgestrel in male rats. Reprod. Fertil. Develop. 2012;24:297–308. doi: 10.1071/RD10221. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Schol

Local authorities claiming to have a credible environmental stance need to step up and this is probably one of the easiest solutions to preventing wildlife deaths and damage to the environment while taking care of rats.

It is a win-win solution unless there is heavy investing in pest control for financial gain.

Ashton Vale Wildlife Survey 2024 -You Can Survey Your Own Area, Too

 Originally from an American site but is worth posting here. Since 1995 I have made sure that there are berries, leaves are left on the ground (for mulch) and I never cut back seed heads since birds help spread the seeds.

In fact the robin and other visitors are enjoying the insects to be found on the bushes and trees. The wood pigeons had the summer and autumn berries but still grab what they can.

It is interesting that Avon Wildlife Trust, when you enter Ashton Vale into its search engine produces the following message:

"Sorry! We can’t find any events or nature reserves that match your search. Please try again with a different search."

Common adder (c)2023 Benny Trapp

Now I have been keeping records since I moved to Ashton Vale in 1994 and first day I read and saw what AWT had to say about the area: "Wildlife deprivation zone" yet that first night I had two barn owls swoop low overhead, heard tawny owls and there were LOTS of beetles and insects and two of the largest hedgehogs I had ever seen. And looking out of my kitchen window that same night I saw a pair of foxes trotting up the road.

Hedgehog (c)2023 respective copyright owner

I found shrews, frogs and much more and so I contacted the Trust but was told quite clearly that I needed to be a member to submit information. Their loss not mine.

Barn owl Tutoke (c)2023 Peter Trimming

It takes very little to encourage wildlife into your garden and even a water source attracts (make sure there are stones so that any hedgehog falling in can get out!).

In 2024 I would like to put together a basic survey but the question is whether anyone will bother sending in information and photos

Is The Raccoon Dog In The UK A Threat or Filling A Vacant Predator Niche?

 

Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides)

The one thing that keeps cropping up, and from my own Exotic Animal Register records from the 1980s on are raccoon dogs

In the past people reporting raccoon dogs have witnessed them being shot or trapped and killed on DEFRA orders -ignoring wildlife parks, etc that were willing to take them on. Back in the early 2000s a lo0cal DEFRA man threatened to have me prosecuted for not turning over maps with locations of raccoon dogs. Nothing happened and besides which all the locations are in my head for safety reasons.

I have been keeping an eye on these animals, as I do with any former "exotic" or so called "invasive species" in the UK since the early 1980s after seeing two in the wild in Germany in the 1970s.   My main questions are:

1) is the animal causing loss of local wildlife?

2) is the animal causing any environmental or other damage?

In the case of raccoon dogs I can state that they have caused no widespread problems to British wildlife -there are millions of rats and rabbits in the UK as well as smaller mammals that humans shoot, poison, trap and kill as "nuisances" and from talking to locals who know the areas where these animals are they have cut back the rodent population but not in any drastic way. I have been told that nothing in the areas where they are has changed and if it were not for the occasional sighting no one would know that they were there. In fact one response has been "There are far, far fewer rats these days".

(c)2023 respective copyright holder

Now, if after four decades of looking at these animals I saw that they were having an adverse effect on the environment I would be all for trapping and them spending a life in an appropriate wildlife centre. Killing is never an option unless you are DEFRA and want to waste public money by paying out a couple of thousand to someone to trap and kill.

So many key species have been wiped out by humans in the UK over the centuries for 'sport' and 'fun' that there are niches that need to be filled. We killed off the wolves and lynx and wild cats and we have had animals such as the raccoon dog fill those niches. After the mass of extinctions in the 19th century the prey-predator ratio was all in the favour of prey and their growing in numbers. Hence the craze for poisons and trapping.

Could all of the raccoon dogs in the wild be killed off? Doubtful. First you have to find them and locals tend to keep quiet.  Awareness of raccoon dogs and how to behave in areas where they might be is important -as is most wildlife education.

Above: young raccoon dog for sale in Kent in 2011  (c)2023 EAR

Although they hide it well and communicate by secure apps on mobile phones we know people do breed and sell on. If they were not doing so then the RSZPCA must be rescuing imaginary animals.

This RSPCA page explains what you need to know.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/other/raccoondogs#:~:text=Selling%20raccoon%20dogs%20in%20the,dogs%20to%20be%20kept%20securely.

Keeping raccoon dogs as pets

On this page, we answer all your questions about raccoon dogs - what they are, what they eat and whether they can be kept as pets.

Selling raccoon dogs in the UK

Since 2 February 2019, it's been illegal to sell raccoon dogs (except for existing 'stock'), as they're a highly invasive risk to native species in Europe. These regulations also don't allow breeding and require raccoon dogs to be kept securely. Read more about the legal restrictions for keeping raccoon dogs and other invasive alien species.

Not a raccoon

Raccoon dogs (also known as a 'tanuki' or a Japanese raccoon dog) aren't raccoons - they're members of the canid (dog) family. They're native to the forests of eastern Siberia, northern China, North Vietnam, Korea and Japan.  They're now widespread in some European countries, having been accidentally released or escaped.

Diet

Raccoon dogs are omnivores and naturally feed on insects, rodents, amphibians, birds, fish, molluscs and carrion, as well as fruits, nuts and berries.

Pet suitability

A raccoon dog isn't suitable as pet as their needs simply can't be met in a typical household. We strongly discourage people from buying or keeping one as a pet.

This is because:

• They're much more difficult to look after than you may imagine! 
• There are strict legal restrictions on keeping, selling, rehoming and breeding raccoon dogs, as they threaten our native wildlife.
• They need space - raccoon dogs are wild animals rather than domesticated pets. In the wild, they have large home ranges, so it wouldn't be suitable to keep one in an enclosure that doesn't provide the space and complexity of the environment (water, hiding places, vegetation) they need.
• They're extremely smelly, as they use scent to communicate with one another - not the best quality in a house pet!

Sadly, it's not uncommon to see raccoon dogs kept in a house, a small enclosure in a garden or a small enclosure in a pet shop. These are all environments that are totally unsuitable for a raccoon dog's complex needs.

Rescued raccoon dogs

Our inspectors have taken in raccoon dogs that were no longer wanted as pets by their owners. This can be the result of the raccoon dog becoming unmanageable, or when owners realise that they cannot care for the animal properly.

We've attended properties where raccoon dogs have been kept in enclosures that are far too small. We've found raccoon dogs kept on their own, or with the family dog - none of which is appropriate for this particular species.

Our team has also been called to capture and collect stray raccoon dogs that have escaped, or been deliberately released into the wild. Releasing, or allowing a raccoon dog to escape is a punishable offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Studies have suggested that raccoon dogs in the wild may live and hunt in pairs or small family groups, although solitary animals have also been seen. We rehome raccoon dogs to wildlife parks and zoos, in pairs or compatible groups.

If you've seen a raccoon dog that's been abandoned, or are concerned about the well-being of a raccoon dog being kept as a pet, please contact us.