Badger protections under threat!

 

Badger protections under threat!

It's been one step forward and two steps back for badger conservation. Despite warnings from MPs, Badger Trust and other conservationists, a controversial change to the Protection of Badgers Act has been approved, introducing vague rules that could allow developers to kill badgers. Opposition MPs pushed back, but the vote passed 9–6.

This is a knock for the protection of badgers but we're not giving up!

Read the full story and get involved to help us protect badgers at this crucial time https://buff.ly/haHR3O2

I Am NOT the Wildlife Police

 

Expanding on this....

I am not wildlife police but people know what is there and that includes nests and while I point out that the Green Party council is allowing this (and I am being told off for that) I am also hearing of gardeners about to cut back greenery near fox dens and this year it has been council contractors and private people wanting to dig up fox dens and disturb badgers.

I am one man and have no team or legal advisors I have enough with authorities suppressing a major report and much more I do not discuss here.

I looked at the membership of 10 Bristol Wildlife groups and the number of members:

BS3 2.5k

B Nt Soc 1.4k

BNat Net 4.7k

BS4 1.3k

BS5 999

BS6 86

BS8 39

BS16 1.5k

BS15 131

BS10 96

Total membership = 12,751

Note that I have not counted EVERY wildlife group so the last time I did that it totalled around 20,000

It is about time those members did something. I am too busy trying to save foxes and badgers from extinction and it is a 24/7 365 unpaid job.

Over the last 6 years they have given me no real cooperation on badgers and foxes or otters but some do like to criticise me for "going on" about Bristol's mammals. I think three people out of all of the groups actually backed me up on asking Bristol CC making some effort to save wildlife on roads.

If everyone of those members (obviously not the ones that are pro hunt and planted in groups) emailed or contact6ed the Mayor, Leader and deputy leader of Bristol City Council as well as their MPs and kicked up a stink it might achieve something but BCC depends on people doing nothing because then they(BCC) do not have to do anything.

That's the situation.

43rd Badger this Year

43rd dead badger (reported) this year.

118th (reported) dead fox recorded.

Green Party run Bristol City Council have not the slightest interest in wildlife death tolls as they plough through destruction of green sites for development.

Like the Labour Party the Greens promised so much but as soon as they gained control of the council they went back on what was promised.

Money over the environment and wildlife

THANK YOU

 Just want to say a big Thank You to all the people who do stop their cars and move dead badgers (and other wildlife) out of the road rather than let them be run over repeatedly by drivers who do not care.  

Be careful as those bad drivers don't care about you either!

The Lie: "You Cannot Carry Out Badger Post Mortems In England"

 I was told very clearly )in person at a meeting) and later in emails by a pathologist that the Health and Safety Executive forbade post mortem examinations on dead badgers due to "the risk of bovine tuberculosis. If there were any suspicious deaths I was told that if he okayed a PME it would need to be carried out in his back garden in fresh air.

However, I knew that the late Bristol badger expert David Morris did this I had certain nagging questions. For instance official PMEs of culled badgers were carried out in laboratories and not in back gardens around the country. Where was HSE stopping these PMEs?

In 2023 there were two reportedly 'suspicious' fox deaths as well as the death of a cat and two badgers. A local Police Community Service Officer submitted all of the animals for PME. It was found that the foxes, cat and badgers were all victims of cars and definitely not poisoning. The PMEs took place in a laboratory so just what was going on? 

We had lost a number of badgers that seemed suspicious but PMEs were ruled out as was examination of a mysterious blue substance near setts. There seemed to be something very strange going on.

In Wales badgers can undergo post-mortem examinations, and this is part of the All Wales Badger Found Dead study. These examinations help monitor the health of the badger population and are used to collect data on disease prevalence, including bovine tuberculosis (bTB).  So why can people in Wales do this but not England?

In Scotland badgers can undergo post-mortem examinations, particularly when suspected of being killed somehow or when part of scientific research. If a badger is found dead and there is suspicion of foul play, the police should be contacted. Post-mortem examinations are also used in research, such as studies on bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and alleged lamb predation. 

I spoke to people in Wales and Scotland and they all say the same thing and that is that there is no hinderance to badger PMEs.  

According to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons it provides general guidance on post-mortem examinations for all animals, including badgers, focusing on ethical considerations and client consent. While there aren't specific RCVS guidelines solely for badger post-mortems, the general principles apply, emphasizing the need for informed client consent and appropriate facilities. 

So, the question is, once more, what is going on in England?  Until I found the fox deaths report being suppressed with seeming agencies approving of the actions taken, I would have dismissed certain claims as paranoid conspiracy theories.

We can question a lot about official government testing of culled badgers since everyone employed is employed by governmental agencies so they tow the official line.  What happened if there were 100 PMEs on badgers and not a single case of bTB?  What if more badgers were tested under PME and found to be bTB free -say 200? That starts to raise a lot of questions even though we know thatthe 'evidence' of badgers spreading bTB is highly suspect and that where there are not enough badgers to "fill cull quotas" badgers (known through testing to be bTB free and in areas where there have been no case of bTB in cattle) are designated for culling. What if PMEs conducted privately show time and again no bTB? That undermines the whole DEFRA and governmental stance.

A PCSO can submit two badgers for a lab PME but not a badger group?

I have to conclude, because what I was told was very -very- clear and also included in emails, that there was deliberate deception.  I have tried to look at it in many ways over the last year but it all comes down to the pathologist as well as the APHA (Animal Plant Health Agency) telling me lies.Badgers can undergo PME it is just finding a vet with wildlife interests willing to do so and the APHA knows that few private individuals can afford to have PMEs carried out.

In my days I have dealt with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) then the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency (FRCA) and then DEFRA. I have seen the dirty tricks, hiding evidence and much, much more but had assumed, stupidly, that we were in more modern and honest times (I'll kick myself in the ass later).

Anyone know and good and credible veterinary pathologists between Bristol and Bath?