Too Late Now: Badger Extinction By the 2030s

 

The Badger Trust posted this and it is well worth visiting the site for full details. I will comment here with what I wrote in a previous post

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2024/04/worrying-conversations.html:

"I stated in a previous post that I believed the actual number of badgers culled in the UK totalled over 300,000. 

"I have been asking and checking various sources and it appears that 250,000 is continually offered as a total number as it is "more acceptable" to the public. There is a lot of playing fast and loose with official bodies who try to deceptively not respond when responding to questions. I really -really- do not want to but have to accept that the number of badgers culled may reach 400,000 in number. "

Looking over the information I have repeatedly decided that the 400,000 figure cannot be accepted for good reasons but the 300,000 figure does make sense and I have predicted over the last few years (yes, making me that "mad man who goes on about extinction") that the fox population is in a critical state and that the badgers were in a similar state and -it is all on posts you can check out- I have stated that by the 2030s we will have hit an extinction event. The rare urban badgers (so long as they are left alone and survive the cars) will be all we have left. 

I was told -I believe that it was also reported elsewhere- that like foxes it was becoming difficult (the word "impossible" was used) to find badgers and some of the cullers were "officially unofficially expanding cull areas".  Dead badgers are worth money but now we have come to the point that badgers are extinct in certain  areas and there should be some anxious farmers around as continued bTB is a sign of bad animal husbandry.

I am afraid that, after decades of looking at species (UK and elsewhere) extinctions we have reached that point and there will be no stop to the cull because of crooked politics and corruption.  

The UK appears to be a country dedicated to wiping out wildlife and destroying the environment for politics and money. 

https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/post/the-slaughter-and-misinformation-behind-it-continues-over-230-000-badgers-killed?fbclid=IwAR0FlKajQ_NsnxEfiBuYsVFgBuxNdAPVS3oHDWuww9xLqzHbVo5D34bFTfQ_aem_AZpkYeg1fv7DdZ-zx5kHj0ZYTDzVDgDV5onSaTAtJf4SVS2KqVE2NHEgAbPdxTfHdAt0eseJdtpY2w6MFAQ0q6aG

The slaughter and misinformation behind it continues – over 230,000 badgers killed

In some areas of England, the government can’t find any more badgers to kill.

Government figures released today show that they killed 19,570 more badgers in 2023 as part of the government-led cull. This figure takes the total number of protected badgers killed since 2012 under the policy to 230,125.   

In many areas, particularly in heavily culled parts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, shooters found it hard to reach anywhere near their minimum kill targets – they simply didn't find the badgers.  This chilling reality of the effect of mass badger killing underlines what was submitted to the Bern Convention—that we are in danger of local extinction in England’s cull areas, and badger populations are not recovering. 

The evidence keeps pointing to cattle measures being the answer—the government has never shown that just shooting badgers cuts bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which the authors of Defra’s own studies repeatedly make clear.

What evidence does Defra have of a causal link between culling badgers and reducing bTB in cattle? Badger culling has always taken place alongside more effective on-farm cattle measures, such as restricting cattle movements, improving biosecurity, and better cattle testing—measures that do work. 94% of bTB spread is due to cattle. Without mandatory cattle measures, the cycle of bTB infection in farmed cattle will continue regardless of how many badgers are culled.

Defra's latest consultation on “badger control operations” that closes on 22 April does not stack up—they've killed over 230,000 badgers and barely tested any. Yet, cattle are only slaughtered when they test positive for bTB.  Cattle vaccines are being developed across the world, and they work, yet they delay their deployment.  The government seems happy to spend more on killing badgers than developing the science that could bring bTB rates down.  Their obsession with the badger continues, and nature always pays the price.

Peter Hambly, Executive Director of Badger Trust, said,

“The killing of badgers must stop.  It doesn’t work in bTB control – it never has.  Now, the government plans to kill even more with no end date, without the science case or business case to back it up.  

When they can’t find the badgers to kill, you know we are near local extinction events. After 250,000 years of badgers on this land, we may be nearing the end of the badger in some areas.  

This is a national nature scandal – let’s end the badger cull before it’s too late.” 

Can We Win When 'Wildlife' Groups Encourage Animal Endangerment? The Story of Badger Watch UK

Boris the Badger and Friends is a Face Book page that promotes the habituation and hand feeding of badgers in close proximity to the actual badger sett. On the 2nd April 2024 the man posted a video of him sitting amongst a group of 6-7 badgers and hand feeding.

I had previously (twice) been very polite and asked him to stop as he was habituating badgers to humans and the hand feeding is something that really ought to be made illegal.

Sitting near a sett and hand feeding badgers -"only one ever comes close" (c)2024 Boris the Badger

His constant response is that the "badger" only came out shyly to him. This was a lie because all of the badgers in the video he talks about how several were climbing over him. Previous videos showed the same thing.  I decided that a much firmer approach to the problem was needed and pointed out that his activities were putting the badgers safety at risk. I also pointed out that using his ISP it was possible to track down his street and from there work out where badgers might be.  I pointed out that, legally, he was interfering with a badger sett and that could involve his being prosecuted. I ended by asking him to PLEASE stop what he was doing.

Then I received this notification along with its rather immature added note. 

 I sent a copy of this notification to all three admins but one blocks any messages so great admin there! There seemed to be no sense in this since I was listed as a "top contributor" on Badger Watch UK -in fact I was the only person actively helping people with badger issues. I assumed there must be an error somewhere.Here is what I sent the only two admins who were contactable:

"I am writing to you as an Admin on Badger Watch UK. It seems that I am accused of "threatening a member" I will make it clear that I did not threaten to do anything other than to report the danger he was putting wildlife -badgers- in and breaking the law at the same time. We need to protect badgers and stop them from being habituated to humans. Sitting on the ground near a badger sett and feeding the badgers in the way he has videoed is also ethically wrong. I deal with badgers killed because they do not see humans as a threat and the member in question may well be a "star" but he is not helping badgers and I am shocked that admins feel pointing this out is threatening. Humans, whoever they are, cannot be encouraged to do this when we urge people to report people around protected badger setts. "

Krister Ardem and admin: "Telling someone you've traced their address via their ISP is definitely threatening"

So I replied and suspect I am going to be kicked off because the attitude was very odd:

"No it was pointing out that it is not hard to use that to track what street he is on and use that to pinpoint where likely locations of badgers are. That is alerting him to how easy the wrong people can find badgers if they want to. I DID NOT state I had tracked his address just that the ISP leads to info that shows his street. That is not a legal definition of a threat but safety warning. The issue here is that this is irresponsible behaviour not good for the badgers. Surely that can be seen? I have alerted Face Book and sent copies of my posts and the video clip I saved and explained that I have been banned for 24 hours because I take an accusation of threatening someone seriously as does FB who pick up these things. If you would sooner have anti wildlife behaviour videos to trying to explain to people how to keep badgers safe then the fight to save badgers is lost."

Krister Ardem "You said you'd traced his street in less than 30 minutes. He's been working with badgers for more than 40 years so why be so attacking and not discuss amicably? Now you're trying to threaten BWUK admins for muting you as a punishment, saying you've disagreed with what is clearly intimidating behaviour. I'm sure Facebook will have a good laugh at your complaint. Before throwing it right into the bin where it belongs."

It was as though I had somehow upset people who are supposed to care for badgers by pointing out that someone was doing something that could harm badgers. I was still trying to help smooth things over though:

"If you go back I have been very polite to him and explained why he should not be doing this. I have tried privately as well and I have worked in wildlife since 1977 so well before his work -whatever that is as I can find no name or published papers. the whole reason I stopped checking on badger setts is because someone tracked me down in a similar way.

"I have actually had a response from FB (note: I received a notification from them about my ban which was why I contacted them) and they were not laughing and I have no idea why you are saying I am threatening BWUK admins?? I get a feeling you just want me to leave the group because this is getting ridiculous with the word threat being thrown everywhere. If ALL the admins agree that a field naturalist with decades of experience is not wanted but social media likes are then ALL admins should agreed to remove me."

In all honesty it was quite simple. I had spoken out against one of their "stars" who got lots of "Likes" for his videos and that, to the admins, was unacceptable and whatever I wrote I was "threatening" anyone and everyone. What I was not expecting was the very immature response to my last message:

So I responded: "That is very immature as a response and you seem to be baiting me for some reason but I stand by what I wrote and the fact that we have to protect badgers"

Sadly, Ardem really was as immature as his responses suggested as he sent this meme next:

I was still trying to be polite but Ardem then blocked me. As did the only other admin on FB.  Basically, they knew they were in t5he wrong and supporting an habituator for social media likes and had no way of responding so were turning every and any word into a "threat"   In fact, it seems that Ardem was not aware of the social media "You Lose the argument" rule. That last meme was it!   

So I waited to see what happened but I had been immediately removed from the group. Boris the Badger and Friends blocked me on all social media -as well as someone else who tried to explain why he should not feed the badgers the way he was.

"only one badger comes near me"  (c)2024 Boris the Badger

And to emphasise the point: 

 This is wrong on so many counts but as with many social media groups  covering foxes and other wild animals this is encouraged and "Boris" even gets a much cherished "Rising star"  at the top of his FB page. Wrong is wrong and these people know it but want the social media likes and ****  the wildlife.

Unfortunately for Badger Watch UK and Boris the Badger and Friends you post publicly then those photographs are available on any search engine (four to be exact as I tried them all to make sure)

Natural History In Bristol -I Really Am Going To Be Disliked (and I do not care)

Here is why Bristol Nature Network and Bristol Naturalist Society on Face Book are of no real interest.

For five years I have attempted to get discussions going on fox deaths and health as well as badger and otter deaths and issues surrounding them. I posted about what the post mortems had discovered; those findings as well as previously noted topics should have created discussion amongst the 6k+ members. Nothing.

Well there were some snide remarks and a few "Likes" but other than that a couple posts on why we need a wildlife care centre in Bristol being deleted as "campaigning" when the posts were referring to the health of Bristol wildlife which is NOT campaigning and I thought were the aims of naturalists.

I am that "mad person" -a field naturalist- that people want to ignore and not engage with. Today I was sent an item that appeared on Bristol Nature Network. So this is okay like the regular meet up for drinks but not LOCAL wildlife matters unless it is bees, butterflies and birds?

We have LOCAL Bristol based wildlife issues and yet out of 6K+ members no one interested? Just sit back and wait for the sunny photo opp weather?

Foxes and badgers are heading (factually proven) for extinction as are other UK species but let's not talk about that. Petitioning Bristol City Council for wildlife over'/underpasses to stop the hundreds of foxes and badgers killed each year in Bristol accident hot spots? Well.... it's so tiring having to think let alone do something active.

Neither the BNN or BNS have members representing naturalists who go out into the field to study and work...let me give you a definition of a Naturalist:

"A naturalist is any person who studies the natural world. Naturalists make observations of the relationships between organisms and their environments, as well as how those relationships change over time. One of the most well-known examples of a naturalist is Charles Darwin."

I am also called a mammalogist:

"Mammalogist. A mammalogist studies and observes mammals. In studying mammals, they can observe their habitats, contributions to the ecosystem, their interactions, and the anatomy and physiology. A mammalogist can do a broad variety of things within the realm of mammals."

Where are the naturalists and mammalogists in Bristol?

Well, I know where I am and I know where the local wildlife rescuer is who is far more of a naturalist than others in the City and County.

Pissed off? Yes, I am because 6K+ as well as the thousands on local wildlife groups are sitting on their asses while our wildlife and environment go down the toilet.

I was a young naturalist from a child and I will continue to be til the day I die and I at least will have left a legacy of decades of work.

Everyone SHOULD Understand This

 

It is all very simple but some people are either not reading or understanding so I will try to explain. "Beasts of the chace(chase)" were every and any animal that people wanted to hunt and kill. Eventually the word "vermin" was used to mean the same thing; animals of any type that were preferred for hunting. It is only hunts and supporters that use that term and it has never officially been used.

Seals, sea lions, cormorants..well, open any illustrated natural history book and point to a bird, mammal of any type and it was for killing. Authors wrote of seeing a seal resting on a rock and noticed it was within shooting range. So moron took his shot and the seal tumbled into the water and sank. Shooter had no idea if he had just wounded or killed it but simply got up and walked along to see what other shooting there was to be had.

Not just gentlemen but !lower classes" could take part in killing wildlife and earn enough for a boozy night or feed the family -foxes (adults and cubs), badgers (ditto), hedgehogs, pine marten on and on the list goes. Why kill these animals? Because they were not wanted as they fulfilled no practical function for humans...other than 'sport'.

By the 1860s Old (original) British red squirrels were wiped out with only one or two pockets continuing. Yes, people DID care because no red squirrels meant no fun shooting. The solution -import red squirrels from Europe. Since the 1860s the red squirrel has faced several near extinctions and nothing to do with grey squirrels. Even today this 'protected' species is shot on private estates and trapped, shop or killed in other ways by commercial forestry companies. None of those ever faces prosecution or any type of legal kick-back but the grey squirrel is a fine scapegoat.

By the 1860s hare coursing had wiped out hares in England. The whole 'sport'of hare coursing along with hare hounds faced it's end. There was a solution: import hares from Europe and so hares flourished again only to be nearly wiped out and today the number in the wild is not that great.

In other areas deer hunting wiped out the species and a solution was found to this: import deer from Europe. Of course, those deer were hunted until their numbers dropped then more were brought in.

The three types of Old British fox were written about in the 'sporting' journals and books. Everyone stated that these foxes were becoming extinct. They kept hunting until by the 1860s the Old foxes were gone and replaced by foxes brought in from Europe, possibly starting in the 1700s. There have been several massive falls in fox populations since the 1900s and we are currently looking at another that may well lead to extinct in the 2030s.

Wild cats were also 'sport' and by the 1860s -a period in British natural history worth noting- the true Scottish wild cat was extinct. Naturalists who had also hunted these animals noted how museums they visited had taxidermy 'wild cats' that were not. The type currently used as the "poster animal" for the species only started appearing in the late 19th/early 20th centuries and there are photographs proving the point. We know that menageries and zoos wanted wild cats and the many animal importers were willing to supply. There may have been some escapees but their distribution and the hybrids they produced are a puzzle until recently when my research discovered that owners of hunting territories were restocking those areas with wild cats so that those with licences had something large to kill.

It goes on and on and on ad infinitum.  

Shooters are currently chatting about where wild cats are going to be released and the excitement over when wolves or lynx will be introduced is high. Yes, bring them back and they will be wiped out.

The wild cats that currently exist, as I have pointed out so often, are not "re-introductions" because you cannot re-introduce a species that went extinct in the 1860s -none exist. These are introductions to fill in a niche the original extinction left almost open. Note that even now the 'protected' wild cat is still being killed on farms and private estates because there is no strong arm law to prevent this.  Do you really think that wild cats wandering into a private estate are going to be allowed to do so?

Introductions create other problems. Some wild cats are due for release in areas where the pine marten has returned over the years. Two predators in a geographically small area...not a good idea. 

When you read that DNA from UK wildlife matches European species it is because they are that species. We need really ancient bones, etc. to try to find genuine Old British wildlife DNA.  

Summarising:

A died out so A2 imported from Europe

B died out so B2 imporeted from Europe.

Just continue with that until you come to Z