Jump to content

Badger problem


Rst1990
 Share

Recommended Posts

Why are badgers protected when foxes aren't? Not wishing to sound like an anti but some farmers like foxes as they keep the rabbits down. Personally, I think they should be on a general licence

You could argue that the legislators got a bit carried away when introducing the entirely justified laws against badger baiting and the other associated 'pastimes'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

because the guardianista countryfile veiwers think theyre all cuddly likly cuteys who help hedgehogs to bed n eat tofu.not small wild dogs that slaughter nesting birds ,hedgehogs chickens and owt else that cant run away from their claws n teeth.theyre protected to the 9th degree m8 because of ignorance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the problem is...

On one of my permissions it's at a stables and the owner has had a ménage built at the cost of £20,000, it's only been in for 3 days and I get a phone call saying that they think badgers are digging up the ménage, I go over there to check it out and their are some big holes dug bigger than what a rabbit could do.

There is badgers about as I've seen a few.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

£21,000 by the time the electric fence is installed. However, that is potentially dangerous for obvious reasons and if it definitely turns out to be badger and possibly just the one, then talking to Natural England might produce alternative/additional options to the fence.

agree with above

but what ever you do don't go and shoot it especially if you want to keep your fac/sgc

 

colin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I applied for a badger cull licence - if you can physically provide a solution they wont agree to cull. In my case it was 500metres of 3 foot high strong wire fencing with a floppy top - £5-£7 K?

All because of badger baiting a foul 'sport'. They should be on general licence but I cant see it coming. Spend money or live with them, badgers and NE, both. They couldnt guarantee my anonymity when applying for a licence to cull either, a sort of implied threat. Its time Ne had a cull of its own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Badgers are territorial and if the ones in an area are clear of TB and are cleared out other badgers will move in and they could be carriers of TB. This is a big problem to cattle farmers particularly dairy as the new badgers can then infect cattle where previously the cattle were clear.

Happily recognise that but it just means all the carriers have to be removed before they can breed and then establish a TB free population and then put them on the general licence. Have badger reserves, fenced if thats whats wanted but elsewhere numbers should IHMO be kept as low as foxes.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've got a half a dozen setts around us within a quarter of a mile and holes dug by badgers are a way of life for us and we get on with it.

 

Yes, they can be a nuisance particularly when they are dug on the air strip and lawns but by far and away the biggest risk to us from badgers is when they start digging into the side of the raised river bank next to the house and then it's straight on the phone for a licence to shift them before they damage the integrity of the bank.

 

As for Badger "latrines", I find a weak solution of Jeyes Fluid sprayed over and around the hole(s) does the trick and they find somewhere else to have a c..p!

 

As I see it, the owners of the stables should carry out an inspection each morning and back fill the holes just as I do with the holes I find on the airstrip so as to avoid a landing or taxying aircraft putting a wheel into one of them.

 

I'm sure they have other areas of risk they assess on a daily basis and this could be easily added to that list and after a time like any routine it will become second nature to anyone looking for risks in the workplace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for Badger "latrines", I find a weak solution of Jeyes Fluid sprayed over and around the hole(s) does the trick and they find somewhere else to have a c..p!

 

 

I'd not heard of the Jeyes fluid for badger latrines - will have to remember that. In the past, I've put coils of barbed wire on the ground where latrines are, it 'encourages' them to find another spot.

 

I do have to agree with what some have posted though. The old 'sport' of badger baiting was horrendous, but it does seem to me that legislation went too far the other way. A farm I know of has a dozen or more setts, damaging fencing on hillsides the setts are that large, and yet he has been told that if he digs up the old, half-buried fences to replace them, or drives in new posts in those specific areas, that he may be charged with interfering with the sett !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've got a half a dozen setts around us within a quarter of a mile and holes dug by badgers are a way of life for us and we get on with it.

 

Yes, they can be a nuisance particularly when they are dug on the air strip and lawns but by far and away the biggest risk to us from badgers is when they start digging into the side of the raised river bank next to the house and then it's straight on the phone for a licence to shift them before they damage the integrity of the bank.

 

As for Badger "latrines", I find a weak solution of Jeyes Fluid sprayed over and around the hole(s) does the trick and they find somewhere else to have a c..p!

 

As I see it, the owners of the stables should carry out an inspection each morning and back fill the holes just as I do with the holes I find on the airstrip so as to avoid a landing or taxying aircraft putting a wheel into one of them.

 

I'm sure they have other areas of risk they assess on a daily basis and this could be easily added to that list and after a time like any routine it will become second nature to anyone looking for risks in the workplace.

Aren't you, perhaps, being a little selective? The need to call for assistance with regard to the river bank and your property seems, to me, to be add odds with the overall sentiment of your post. Would it not be possible to lay wire mesh of the appropriate gauge on the river bank beside the house? Then you and brock can get on with your way of lives undisturbed.

 

Understand about the airstrip though, used to spend hours clearing the rabbit a set distance from either side of a hard runway to stop any aircraft which had left the runway for whatever reason suffering even more damage when it came to a sudden stop having ploughed into a warren.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aren't you, perhaps, being a little selective? The need to call for assistance with regard to the river bank and your property seems, to me, to be add odds with the overall sentiment of your post. Would it not be possible to lay wire mesh of the appropriate gauge on the river bank beside the house? Then you and brock can get on with your way of lives undisturbed.

 

 

 

Not being selective at all.

 

Perhaps I should have explained that although the river bank is on my property I am precluded from doing anything to the bank due to Environment Agency bye-laws which includes my preventing Badgers from digging into it.

 

The procedure is that I inform them of the damage and or presence of a sett and they deal with it.

 

Putting down wire mesh would be interesting though, particularly when the EA flail mower comes along to clear the bank of vegetation.

 

Having said that, with the diversion of funds within the EA to spend more on flood prevention in the towns, we are seeing less and less maintenance of the main watercourses on the Fens, so perhaps taking matters into my own hands may be forced upon me sooner or later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Not being selective at all.

 

Perhaps I should have explained that although the river bank is on my property I am precluded from doing anything to the bank due to Environment Agency bye-laws which includes my preventing Badgers from digging into it.

 

The procedure is that I inform them of the damage and or presence of a sett and they deal with it.

 

Putting down wire mesh would be interesting though, particularly when the EA flail mower comes along to clear the bank of vegetation.

 

Having said that, with the diversion of funds within the EA to spend more on flood prevention in the towns, we are seeing less and less maintenance of the main watercourses on the Fens, so perhaps taking matters into my own hands may be forced upon me sooner or later.

Thanks for the response, appreciate your problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was in a well known pest control company, there was a problem with badgers at a fruit juice site in Suffolk.

 

Without boring everyone of all the details, we had to get in contact with all the relevant authorities and by the time I left we almost had permission to gas them.

 

This came after having to monitor the sets using wildlife cams for months, lots of reports etc...

 

Was all nearly scuppered when a employee of the factory tried his own method of blocking the holes and we luckily managed to frame him in the cam and not get blamed on our work.

 

Used to love that site, they had a mega rabbit problem and we used to keep the numbers down and also had live traps there which we did programmes with. Remember popping along there daily to get my dinner on the way home.

Edited by Mentalmac
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I shall consider myself lucky then to live here where I can legally shoot them, in fact I am off out tonight to try and get one or two to make hams from, bloody lovely. The Uk has banned what used to be the norm, ie country folk looking after the country. shame really. if I get one i will put some pictures

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...