We have a big problem when it comes to badgers reported dead within the BBG area. How did they die?
Back in 2020 a call went out about a badger found dead in some undergrowth in a part of East Bristol. There was a search and the badger was found and a quick check revealed a number of breaks in its body. A few days previously there had been severe weather -gale force wind and rain; this badger was at the bottom of some cliffs. Everything looked consistent with the badger having fallen for some reason from a height.
We have had badgers found in or near parks but a fair distance from roads but those roads were close enough. As with foxes we have found that a badger hit by a car will follow a path back towards its sett area before internal injuries kick in.
At one point in two areas unusual blue pellets were found -one lot in a food dish on a street frequented by badger5s and foxes. The other pile of pellets was found in a Bristol park where three badgers had died some distance from a road.
The material was reported to Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire both authorities were disinterested. From one source (Friends of Eastville Park) I tried repeatedly to get samples of the blue material to pass on to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Service and DEFRA for analysis. I was told several times that they would wait for the City Council to decide what action to take and despite my stating BCC had said it had no interest the group refused to give up samples. Slug pellets, poison -we have no idea because no one was interested. Even a badger stool sample and fox stool sample with the blue material in them were handed in to the establishment that carried out our fox necropsies) : not even checked.
When I broached the subject of badger necropsies with Langford Veterinary School I was told that "we are not allowed by the Health and Safety Executive to carry out badger post mortems" -the reason given was the "possible risk of bovine TB".
After severing ties with Langford I discovered that badger post mortems were being carried out there; I had been told a lie from the outset.
The head of the old Avon Badger Group conducted his own post mortem examinations in the garden but Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre and Avon Wildlife Trust who had copies of the ABG records will not allow access. The only remaining member of the old group I found has stated that all her data will "proudly go to the grave with me" so all of that data is gone.
PMs on badgers are carried out in Wales.
Why is it important to carry out badger PMs in the region? Firstly, it tells us what the overall health of the population is, Secondly it will give a lot of information on parasites and other issues faced by badgers. Thirdly, it would give a proven cause of death.
Despite what people believe there are still local "badger men" who get paid by farmers or landowners to "deal (kill) with badgers" . People involved in badger baiting (yes, it still goes on) as well as people using snares often try to hide what they have been up to by dumping dead badgers by the roadside. People tend to treat dead animals by the side of the road as nothing and certainly do not check or ask questions -far enough into the road cars soon take care of any evidence.
In our area we have had two cases of foxes snared but "dying from car strike" (we assume). We have had an otter snared and then dumped into the road to cover tracks. Dumping badgers into the road to stop questions being asked is an old trick -taxidermists buy road kill badgers and the seller has a photo of the badger in front of the car or on the roadside as "proof" of how it died. I got removed from two taxidermy groups after asking what area was having 4-6 badgers killed a week on what seemed a quiet country lane as the local badger group might want to check. Photo of the dead badger for sale in front of a parked up car.
Now we simply list as (possible) RTA if badgers are found by the road and simply as "dead" because no examination has taken place.
It would be good to get badger post mortems carried out but with no funds or even qualified vets willing to do the work we are just left with a lot of "dead" badgers.
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