Derbyshire badger vaccination trial makes 'positive start'

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has said its programme to vaccinate badgers as an alternative to culling has got off to a successful start.

The trust wants to show that an injection can prevent the spread of Bovine TB from badgers to cattle.

It is part of a five-year programme aimed at convincing the government to fund alternatives to culling.

Last year the government carried out a trial cull to prevent the spread of the disease, but an independent scientific assessment concluded they were not effective.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said it supports the vaccine but said it does not work when the badgers are already infected.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-27811198

   

Great news.

Tesstacious wrote:Great news.

Absolutely  ::cheerlead:: 

Tesstacious wrote:Great news.

Certainly is, should have started it a long time ago.

very nice and all that....and far better than culling for a number of reasons (non of which are to do with whether or not its ethical to cull)

BUT...

what are all these "bunny huggers" going to do in 10 years time when we are neck deep in badgers.....
and the bumble bee and hedgehog are extinct....

I can guess what...

It will be anybodies and anythings fault but the true cause.....an excess of badgers....

(hint)..badgers eat bumblebee nests and Mr and Mrs Tiggywinkle.....

victorisnotamused wrote:very nice and all that....and far better than culling for a number of reasons (non of which are to do with whether or not its ethical to cull)

BUT...

what are all these "bunny huggers" going to do in 10 years time when we are neck deep in badgers.....
and the bumble bee and hedgehog are extinct....

I can guess what...

It will be anybodies and anythings fault but the true cause.....an excess of badgers....

(hint)..badgers eat bumblebee nests and Mr and Mrs Tiggywinkle.....

In all honesty Victor, I think the pesticides will get the bumble bee and the changing environment will get the hedgehog long before the badger has a chance.

Of course sassy...of course

funny though...the rising number of badgers over the last 10 years (the % increase) exactly matches the %decline in hedgehogs.....but of course....thats irrelevant isnt it...

just like the % increase in corvids almost exaclty mirrors the decline in songbirds....


funny that.....

victorisnotamused wrote:Of course sassy...of course

funny though...the rising number of badgers over the last 10 years (the % increase) exactly matches the %decline in hedgehogs.....but of course....thats irrelevant isnt it...

just like the % increase in corvids almost exaclty mirrors the decline in songbirds....


funny that.....

Actually Victor, the RSPB did a study on the decline of songbirds and found it was because of the change in farming practices and the loss of hedgerows.

Effect on songbirds

Most British members of the crow family (including magpies) will take eggs and nestlings. This can be upsetting to witness but it is completely natural. However, some people are concerned that there may be a long-term effect on songbird populations.

Many of the UK's commonest songbirds have declined during the last 25 years, at a time when populations of magpies increased. To find out why songbirds are in trouble, the RSPB has undertaken intensive research on species such as the skylark and song thrush. To discover whether magpies could be to blame for the decline, the RSPB commissioned the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to analyse its 35 years of bird monitoring records.

The study found that songbird numbers were no different in places where there were many magpies from where there are few. It found no evidence that increased numbers of magpies have caused declines in songbirds and confirms that populations of prey species are not determined by the numbers of their predators. Availability of food and suitable nesting sites are probably the main factors limiting songbird populations.

We have undertaken intensive research to find out why songbirds are in trouble. We discovered that the loss of food and habitats caused by intensive farming have played a major role in songbird declines. The change from spring to autumn sowing and the increase in the use of agricultural chemicals have reduced the amount of insects and weed seeds available for songbirds to eat.

These and other habitat changes, including the removal of hedgerows which are used for nesting, roosting and feeding sites by some birds, have been major reasons for the severe declines in many of our farmland species.

Songbirds need dense vegetation to nest in, to help protect their eggs and young from predators. This is not usually available in suburban gardens. You can help the birds in your garden by planting climbers such as ivy and honeysuckle, and dense shrubs such as hawthorn.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/m/magpie/effect_on_songbirds.aspx

Farming practices also play a part in the decline of the hedgehog:

this issue is not a straight forward one as there could be many factors contributing to the decline of hedgehog populations.
it is further complicated by populations declining in both rural and urban habitats
where pressures and changes in the environment are very different.
ptes is currently commissioning various research into the reasons for their decline and measures whichcould be taken to reverse the effects.
some possible factors are listed below but this list isn’t comprehensive.
What is apparent is that while the countryside matters may take more time to change, the urban and
suburban environment is in our control and so immediate changes could be made to offer a safe refuge for
hedgehogs at least in the interim.
loss of HeDGeroWs
has a negative effect on hedgehogs as a good quality hedgerow provides shelter,
food, protection from predators and a place to hibernate. Hedgerow removal on a large scale began during the second World War and although the loss has now halted, mismanagement and neglect still threaten the habitat.
rouGHfielD eDGes
are fewer in number since intensified farming practices over the past few decades
have led to fewer, larger fields which offer less foraging areas close to field edges.
Pestidice Use
in rural areas has increased as a result of the move to increase food production across our countryside. this is likely to have heavily impacted on hedgehogs by killing off a large proportion of their invertebrate food supply.
Fragmented Habitats affect hedgehogs, as well as other native species, as they suffer from the changes in our countryside management and urban development.
laying new hedgerows to restore rural connectivity will eventually improve things for hedgehogs in the long term if they are correctly managed
but new roads and urban development need more mitigation measures.
Loss of suitable refuges in the urban habitat effects hedgehogs.
With changes to the countryside, hedgehogs, like foxes, have adapted well to living in semi-urban environments, particuarly when kind
homeowners provide extra food. However moves towards impenetrable garden boundaries, tidiness and aesthetics appear to have had an effect on our town-dwelling hog populations too.

Badgers
are known to predate hedgehogs but as this has always been the case, this is only likely to be a big problem for populations if other factors are also acting to reduce hedgehog numbers.

http://www.ptes.org/files/1136_hedgehog_fact_sheet.pdf

yep I know all about THAT report...

but you know ...its strange ...well mangaged shoots with active predator control ALWAYS have better bio-diversity than uncontrolled areas.....much to the RSPB's fury....

AND....hedgerow loss has declined and in some areas is being replaced...fragmented habitat is being "joined up"


and THAT report flies in the face of well known ecological facts for prey/predator relationships...

viz...arctic hares vs arctic foxes....

victorisnotamused wrote:yep I know all about THAT report...

but you know ...its strange  ...well mangaged shoots with active predator control ALWAYS have better bio-diversity than uncontrolled areas.....much to the RSPB's fury....

AND....hedgerow loss has declined and in some areas is being replaced...fragmented habitat is being "joined up"


and THAT report flies in the face of well known ecological facts for prey/predator relationships...

viz...arctic hares vs arctic foxes....

Well, we will have to see, because when the government did it's 'cull', they found there weren't as many badgers as they thought there were.

well on my "permission"
320 acres

there is a badger sett....I recon about 8 badgers in all...thick as two short planks they are, but nice to see...apparently there has ALWAYS been about 8 badgrs there....their numbers are controlled by some mysterious force....personally I recon its called the motor car.....cos theres always plenty of "buggered badgers" about on the roads around here....Badgers have zero road sense....their ancestors have always gone this way so they will too....plod plod plod...at the same speed regardless....someone ought to teach em the green cross code....

they are of course protected, and even if they wern't i wouldnt touch em, they are doing no harm...and they are funny to watch at times....

HOWEVER....

when I first took on this permission....there were about 18 pairs of magpies and umpteen crows/rooks etc and heaven above knows howmany grey squirrels

there were also about 6 nesting pairs of skylarks scattered about....

NOW....there are just 5 pairs of magpies (so I dont shoot them now...5 pairs on 320 acres is a reasonable population) a few less crows/rooks and a considerable number fewer greys....
there are also now 20+ pairs of nesting skylarks....coincidence???

Mr and Mrs fox are safe...the landowner is a cattle man and they dont bother him so he said to leave them alone, as his missus and kids like to see em...well fair enough...since foxy and missus help me do MY primary job which is to some how reduce the number of rabbits undermining his fields and eating his grazing/food crops.
and "some how" it is, there are 1000's of the furry fiends...12 large warrens on the 200 acres that I know of

Ah rabbits, we have so many of them. Where I used to live they had lots of myxi, but here they don't seem to. I swear there are more rabbits than human beings around here!

It makes you wonder

sigh...so many rabbits ...so few pies......

I know, I have an order with my butcher for this weekend lol