Countryfile

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Tom Heap is tip toeing around the possibility that the massive rise in badger numbers may have caused the dramatic decline of the wonderful hedgehog!

Interesting to watch some of the "facts" being mentioned and very interesting that there appears to be a rise in hedgehog numbers in areas that have been subjected to a badger cull.

Decisions, decisions, how sad that nature in the raw is not all fluffy.

 

[JDog]

I've had to change channels.

Edited April 1, 2018 by JDog

[panoma1]

Yep! The guy Heap was interviewing put an excellent case regarding the increase in badger numbers associating it with the decrease in hedgehog numbers! And accusing the protectionists of underplaying this because it doesn't fit in with the cuddly image of nature they wish to portray!

[johnny]

Makes my ******* blood boil this sort of thing. Badgers carry tb and eat lots of hedgehogs and ground nesting birds eggs. Why doesn't one of these people say so. How much more research do we need?

[Dougy]

There's some land not too far from me, the ground nesting birds have increased to the point that there are a noticeable number of comments from locals about the increase.  Skylarks are now becoming common sight same as lapwings and grey partridge. And hedgehogs have increased in numbers too, but badger numbers seemed to have declined,  i think they have moved on. 

[clakk]

1 minute ago, Dougy said:

There's some land not too far from me, the ground nesting birds have increased to the point that there are a noticeable number of comments from locals about the increase.  Skylarks are now becoming common sight same as lapwings and grey partridge. And hedgehogs have increased in numbers too, but badger numbers seemed to have declined,  i think they have moved on. 

Nail n head Dougy, the avoider of truth Heap would never say on country fake Badgers devour Hedgepigs as the fantasy brigade would slaughter the BBC on farcebook n social media 

[la bala]

Some of those setts had quite a few occupants, now they are protected and have no predators there numbers will grow. You just cant believe how one sided that BBC is.

[Dougy]

The thing is hedgehogs will also eat ground nesting chicks and eggs, but the population of badgers in comparison  is 100 fold so they will obviously do more damage. 

 

It's not about the total wipe out of badgers just thin them out a bit. 

[ClemFandango]

Not much more to add other than the fact that I suspect the decline of bumblebees to be linked to the increase in Badgers. 

 

I can't understand why they can't change the badger act to allow them to be shot or add trapping and shooting to the general licence, they could even have a close season. 

 

The setts could still be protected making it an offence to dig and effectively keeping badger baiting at bay(as much as the law does that anyway) but landowners would have the choice whether or not to control them. 

[Mice!]

21 minutes ago, ClemFandango said:

Not much more to add other than the fact that I suspect the decline of bumblebees to be linked to the increase in Badgers. 

 

I can't understand why they can't change the badger act to allow them to be shot or add trapping and shooting to the general licence, they could even have a close season. 

 

The setts could still be protected making it an offence to dig and effectively keeping badger baiting at bay(as much as the law does that anyway) but landowners would have the choice whether or not to control them. 

can't do that it sounds sensible. Big mammal that folk can recognise and gets put across as eating worms, meanwhile they can blame farming practice, enclosed gardens and cars for killing the hedgehogs.

[Fisheruk]

The problem with controlling badgers is that the Wildlife trusts use its picture as their logo. Not easy for them to face reality.

[moose man]

“ Stop shouting at the tv , they can’t hear you “ was my wife’s last comment just before she changed channel ....

[JohnfromUK]

Nature is an incredibly complex balancing act, a perpetually moving balance, but with great resilience.  Factors like hard winters, dry summers, gluts of certain fruits etc. all disturb the balance, but it recovers over a period.

Human intervention is usually far too clumsy t0 'fine tune', and so causes wild swings in the balance that can have wide ranging 'knock on' effects.

Nature also includes both what some will see as 'cruelty', but also great tenderness.

On the BBC, it has also brought us the great Sir David Attenborough, and in the past, the 'thoughtful' David Bellamy, who looked beyond the headlines and took an honest view based on facts.

Edited April 2, 2018 by JohnfromUK

[getthegat]

We'll said Johnfromuk. Can't say I've seen any badger activity on any of my perms, but I have been seeing lots of Skylarks and a few partridge, though on the road kill side I've seen quite a lot of dead Brock's, which means an increase in numbers.

 I use to always watch CF, but definitely less bothered now, what with the stance they take on many issues. Totally understand it mind you, as the BBC is funded by the general public, so need to keep the majority on side, with us realist shooters and hunters, in the minority unfortunately. My sister gets visited every night by hedgehogs in her garden and I think like foxes, they are moving more into urban areas, less so the badger possibly. Having been around more decades than I care to remember, I do believe it will only get harder for our sport and the fluffy side will grow ever stronger.

[moose man]

1 hour ago, JohnfromUK said:

Nature is an incredibly complex balancing act, a perpetually moving balance, but with great resilience.  Factors like hard winters, dry summers, gluts of certain fruits etc. all disturb the balance, but it recovers over a period.

Human intervention is usually far too clumsy t0 'fine tune', and so causes wild swings in the balance that can have wide ranging 'knock on' effects.

Nature also includes both what some will see as 'cruelty', but also great tenderness.

On the BBC, it has also brought us the great Sir David Attenborough, and in the past, the 'thoughtful' David Bellamy, who looked beyond the headlines and took an honest view based on facts.

But as David Bellamy found out to his cost if you don’t tow the party line your work for the corporation goes the same way as the hedgehog..downhill very rapidly...

[ShootingEgg]

Country file hasnt been any good for years, just shows the blinkered town folk what they want to believe, I try to not watch it as I just get wound up by it. 

[ClemFandango]

10 hours ago, Fisheruk said:

The problem with controlling badgers is that the Wildlife trusts use its picture as their logo. Not easy for them to face reality.

The British deer society's logo is a deer. 

 

The Wildlife Trust manage foxes and deer on some of their reserves that I personally know of. 

anyway they wouldn't have any input into a change in legislation or the badger cull.

 

[JohnfromUK]

9 minutes ago, moose man said:

But as David Bellamy found out to his cost if you don’t tow the party line your work for the corporation goes the same way as the hedgehog..downhill very rapidly...

Quite, although that related mainly to climate change.  I was particularly thinking of a programme he did examining the impact of fieldsports on wildlife.  He was not a fieldsports participant, and 'tended' towards the anti side .......... until he began to seriously research the issues.  The conclusion was that though he would not wish to become active in fieldsports, the impact they had on the natural environment was overwhelmingly positive.  In particular on helping wild birds survive hard winters and food shortages, but in many other ways as well.

It was a thoughtful and very balanced programme.

Edited April 2, 2018 by JohnfromUK

[moose man]

26 minutes ago, getthegat said:

We'll said Johnfromuk. Can't say I've seen any badger activity on any of my perms, but I have been seeing lots of Skylarks and a few partridge, though on the road kill side I've seen quite a lot of dead Brock's, which means an increase in numbers.

 I use to always watch CF, but definitely less bothered now, what with the stance they take on many issues. Totally understand it mind you, as the BBC is funded by the general public, so need to keep the majority on side, with us realist shooters and hunters, in the minority unfortunately. My sister gets visited every night by hedgehogs in her garden and I think like foxes, they are moving more into urban areas, less so the badger possibly. Having been around more decades than I care to remember, I do believe it will only get harder for our sport and the fluffy side will grow ever stronger.

I don’t see it should be a need to take sides , the truth is the truth whatever , should the BBC not just be telling it as it is rather than fluff up the countryside to appeal to the city based majority who the programme was I presume originally intended to educate . The fact the BBC is funded by the general public it has a duty to tell the truth , not a hotch box of anti , every thing is fluffy country side fairy stories ...I’m getting in rant mode I’ll stop .......

Edited April 2, 2018 by moose man

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 hour ago, moose man said:

I don’t see it should be a need to take sides , the truth is the truth whatever , should the BBC not just be telling it as it is rather than fluff up the countryside to appeal to the city based majority who the programme was I presume originally intended to educate . The fact the BBC is funded by the general public it has a duty to tell the truth , not a hotch box of anti , every thing is fluffy country side fairy stories ...I’m getting in rant mode I’ll stop .......

Have you always worn rose tinted spectacles?

[Bigbob]

Country Files no for anybody with the slightest knowledge of the country side its dumbed down for townies  and even that presenter Ellie Harrison ?  there was a section in a farming magazine from Adam Henson where his mates where ribbing him about it being dumbed down for the public and so Ellie could grasp it . Even Tom Heap is involved in the R.S.P.C.A. so any of his reports are going to be biased from the start good old BBc at its best 

[moose man]

9 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Have you always worn rose tinted spectacles?

Sorry its the “ I live in hope tablets “ the doctor gave me when the rose tinted glasses failed to improve the outlook ..Time to get out the spade , look for a soft sandy spot and bury my head ... ..

[TIGHTCHOKE]

It would be a great world if institutions like the BBC were even handed and did not operate their own political agenda, it used to be a paragon of virtue but those days are long gone.

[Uilleachan]

Where I am we've no shortage of hedgehogs nor have we a shortage of badgers, in fact we have an abundance of wildlife of all types across the board. We also have an abundance of habitat and very very little industrial agriculture. What we have of the latter is located in the sea, true to say it's not without issue regarding pollution and negative pressures on migratory game fish. But thats another story. 

I don't blame farmers nor do I blame the badger, in those areas of the country with little habitat wildlife is forced into the ever decreasing margins. That there's going to be a rebalancing of species is a simple fact of nature. 

The demise of the UK rural hedgehog won't be turned around by culling badgers, it's habitat they need. It's the same for all the flora and fauna of the UK. Blaming badgers is to treat a symptom rather than tackle the disease. 

  

[moose man]

4 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

It would be a great world if institutions like the BBC were even handed and did not operate their own political agenda, it used to be a paragon of virtue but those days are long gone.

I might just have one more quick look through the glasses before I bury them along with my head ....