Latest
News 31st August 2008
Injured
Badger on the mend
On the morning of the 22nd August
the GBG received a call from a couple who had found
an injured badger on a road near Pontypool, it had
been hit by a car and was in a bad way.
A GBG Officer arrived on scene and
took the badger to a vet for examination, she was
found to have only a minor wound to the chin and
a tooth mark in her tongue, but a very severe concussion.
After about 10 hrs in care she started
panting very fast so a vet was called and she was
put on a drip for shock and this seemed to do the
trick, but by the morning this had returned but
not as bad so the vet gave some steroids which made
her much more comfortable.
By day three she was still only
semi conscious but was making efforts to curl up
in a sleep position, so we continued treatment for
coma which involved turning the badger three times
a day and keeping her clean which even meant washing
her eyes as they were a bit messy.
The next day she was a little brighter
but still very weak, the fluid tubes were removed
and food and water offered, she was fed water via
a syringe and did manage a honey sandwich, and once
the food started going in we started to see very
quick results.
Six days after arrival she is feeding
herself but still not too clever on her feet, but
over the next few days she improved enough to walk
out of the pen and follow a bowl of peanuts around,
this was great exercise but she needed more space.
Ten days after arrival Rosie as
she is now named because of her red nose had a quick
visit from the Vet who suggested moving her to a
bigger enclosure so that she would be on her feet
more so it was of to Secret World in Somerset who
have a great rehab facility for such cases.
She will now remain there until
she is fit for release which hopefully only be a
few days to a week, she will then be brought back
to Wales for release.
More news as we get it.
Gallery
Click Here
|
30th June
National Badger Rally Attended by Over 300!
A
huge thank you to everyone who attended Viva!'s
National Rally for the Badgers on Saturday, June
28. The response was overwhelming, with over 300
people gathering on the steps of the Welsh Assembly's
Debating Rooms. The message was resounding and echoed
right across Cardiff Bay - No badger 'cull' in Wales
(or anywhere else in the UK for that matter!).
Badgers
descended on Cardiff Bay in their hundreds. A mother
and father ‘badger’ were joined by children
dressed as baby badgers. Surrounding them were hundreds
of animal and wildlife lovers from across Wales
and the rest of the UK. All were wearing eye-catching
badger masks and holding dual-language signs saying
‘Stop the cull!’ and ‘Atal Y Cwlio!’.
The peaceful protestors were calling
on Elin Jones (Minister for Welsh Rural Affairs)
to act on the available science and cancel the cull.
Messages
were read out from sympathetic politicians, including
Lorraine Barrett AM, as well as celebrities such
as Wendy Turner-Webster, Joanna Lumley, Rose Elliot,
Jenny Seagrove and Benjamin Zephaniah.
Source:
Viva
To
see photo's of the Rally Click
here
For
more info and news on the event visit Viva's Website,
Click
Here. |
Snared Badger Released 27th April
The Badger rescued from a snare in Abergavenny has been released, The area has been visited
by Police Wildlife Crime Officers who have spoken to landowners regarding the matter, and after
extensive checks of the land to make sure it was safe the badger is now back in the wild.
The release was attended by three of the group of walkers who discovered the badger, and
They were delighted the badger was saved.
The GBG urged walkers and visitors to the countryside to be vigilant and to report and snares,
traps or suspicious activity whilst out.
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20th April
Walkers Horrific Find
A
group of walkers came across an horrific sight whilst
out on a public footpath in the Abergavenny area, a snared
badger, the walkers were very quick thinking and called
the RSPCA who relayed the call to the GBG who sent out
an officer to help.
Upon
arrival the group helped the officer carry equipment across
the fields to the badger and then assisted in the rescue,
the officer congratulated the group for all of their efforts,
which included putting a block of wood under the badger
to take her weight off the snare, “ she was quite
cross with us, they were very brave”
The
badger was taken to the vet for examination and removal
of the snare and we happy that the snare has not caused
much damage to the badger and she could be in for a speedy
recovery and release.
As
with all snaring injuries she will be observed for about
five days and then re-examined by a vet and if no treatment
is needed we will arrange for a release.
Our
office has reported the incident to the Police as the
snare was set where there is obvious badger activity,
with lots of hair on the fence and even a fresh badger
latrine a few feet from where the snare was set.
Our
officer said “snares are terrible and cause unessasary
suffering to animals, but one set deliberately to catch
a badger is a crime and we will deal with it as a crime”
He added “badgers remain a protected species in
the UK and must be left alone, we urge landowners to contact
the GBG if they have a problem with badgers”
Gallery
Click Here
Badger
Released
Here
is a pic of the badger rescued in Tutshill ready for release
by the Boyle Family
12th April
Badger rescued by Good Samaritan
A local man from Tutshill was walking
his dog when he came across a badger in distress, quick
thinking he returned to his nearby home to get a pet carrier
and managed to bundle the badger inside and took it to
a local vet who deals with wildlife.
The
vets turned out to be the very one we use, and they called
us to let us know there was a badger at the surgery.
A
GBG officer was dispatched to the vets as always to assist;
the badger was examined and seemed to have a possible
broken pelvis as it was dragging its back end around.
The badger was sedated and a battery of
tests and x rays were taken and no broken bones were found,
and from our previous experience with badgers it was decided
it was a massive concussion and he was in a complete daze.
He was removed to the rehab unit and has
been under supervision for 48hrs, and is now on his feet,
eating and generally making himself at home, so once his
course of antibiotics are finished he will be released
back to the wild in a few days.
After
talking to the man who captured him he said that he knew
that the badger could deliver a nasty bite when injured
so he took all precautions not to get bitten, and the
GBG praise his actions and respect for the badger, but
as always we do not recommend that you handle an injured
badger unless you have some equipment and take precautions,
if in doubt cover the animal and call a vet or wildlife
rescue group.
Gallery
- Click here
4th April 2008
Cruel' badger-baiters sentenced
Two men have been given six-month suspended jail sentences after they were caught
badger-baiting with dogs.
Simon Evans, 40, of Pencader, and Peter McGuigan, 37, from Llandysul, must also carry out
240 hours of community work.
District judge Mark Layton, sitting at Llanelli magistrates, said they were guilty of "sickening
and appalling acts of cruelty".
The friends were also banned from keeping dogs for seven years and must pay £4,000 each in
costs.
The pair were convicted at the town's magistrates' court last month.
Sentencing the duo, Mr Layton, said the matters were so serious only a custodial sentence was
justified.
McGuigan [L] and Evans were equipped with dogs, nets and tracking devices
He said the only explanation as to why they had gone badger baiting at woodland near
Boncath, Pembrokeshire, on 14 October 2006 was "for some sort of enjoyment".
But he said how anyone could enjoy such "sickening and appalling acts of cruelty" was "quite
incomprehensible".
Earlier, Aled Owen, defending, said custody would have a devastating effect on the
defendants. He said as a result of last month's trial, McGuigan had lost his job.
He said both men did not have previous convictions for similar offences and played full parts in
their local communities.
Last month's trial heard that both went equipped with dogs, nets and tracking devices to hunt
badgers in October 2006.
A nearby landowner heard a commotion and called police.
When officers arrived a limp badger was found in the mouth of a lurcher dog belonging to them
and a metre-deep hole had been dug close to a badger sett.
It was claimed the men had flushed out a badger and then watched for sport as their dogs
fought it.
They were found guilty of four out of five charges brought by the RSPCA.
Source BBC News Wales Online Click Here
14th March 2008
Walker
Makes Horrific Find
On
the 14th March we had a call from Welsh Nature film maker
Iolo Williams, a collegue of his had been out walking
in the Gilwern area and had come across a snared badger
close to the public footpath.
The
GBG dispatched an officer who joined up with the walker
and went out to the spot, it was horrific, our officers
are used to seeing animals dead and in distress it’s
the nature of the job but sometimes you know the amount
of suffering they have been through just by looking at
them.
The
Badger a female had been caught by a snare around the
chest just behind the front legs this alone would have
sent the animal into a massive state of panic, and then
in a bid to free itself had chewed on a fence post and
then fed itself in and out of the sheep fence until finally
not having enough loose wire left to move had become stuck
in the fence and died.
It
is hard to imagine a badger of about 8kg fitting itself
through one of the squares in a sheep fence but this one
had been in and out a few times, it is hard to say what
the exact cause of death was although the snare is the
primary cause it was probably shock and exahaustion the
finished it off it’s a terrible thing for any animal
to endure, it must have took more than 24hrs to die, and
with the first signs of fly eggs on its gums the snare
had defiantly not been checked for a few days.
The
incident had now been reported to the local Police and
an investigation is ongoing.
Gallery
– WARNING - Graphic
images –
Click here
25th
Feb 2008
Just
a quick update, we are pleased to announce that the badger
with the bad tounge healed up very well and was released
on the 21 Feb in a field just off the road where she was
found. She had finished the course of antibiotics and
was eating well and was a very strong badger with the
right attitude for release, she just wanted to go, she
had been for a check up the week before and all was fine,
the farmers came to the release and were delighted that
she had made enough progress to be released.
8th
Feb 2008
On
the 6th feb we had a call from a Farmer in the Abergavenny
area reporting an injured badger, an officer was dispatched
and the badger picked up.
Initially
there were no signs of injury she just looked tired and
cold, probably the result of being ousted from a sett
as she is just over a year old and with breeding season
well under way she probably had a row with the dominant
Sow.
Our
officer kept the badger over night in his rehab pen but
in the morning she had not moved or eaten and had to be
transferred to the vet.
After
examination it was discovered that she had a severe injury
to her tongue and a nasty infection had set in, probably
the result of fighting and biting her tongue in the process.
The
wound was cleaned out and the vet used a special material
called Acticote, a silver impregnated floss which was
first used in the Gulf war to treat infected wounds, this
is packed into the wound and sutured into place, it then
combats the infection with the help of antibiotics.
She
has had a good nights rest and is now starting to eat
from a syringe, but she is very bright and full of spirit
so fingers crossed she will pull through.
Gallery
click here
– Warning contains surgery
7th January 2008
BADGER baiters have struck for the second time in a week.
As
reported in yesterday's Argus, Gwent Badger Group (GBG)
members discovered a dug-out sett near Pontypool on New
Year's Eve, Then on Saturday, they had a second alert
of badger diggers at a sett between Monmouth and Chepstow,
A police investigation is ongoing.
Badger
digging involves excavating a sett and pulling badgers
out for use in baiting - an illegal blood sport where
badgers are forced to fight dogs.
Steve
Clark, chairman of the group, said: "A local resident
spotted the men, with shovels and dogs at around 8am and
called us." Mr
Clark alerted the police and headed for the site but the
diggers managed to get away before officers found them.
On
Scene with the Police
The
large sett, which had more than 20 badger holes, was located
near farmland and woodland, But Mr Clark is concerned
to have discovered two badger digging incidents in one
week "It's
an unusual increase and really alarming," he said.
"If
this is how the year continues, it will be challenging
for us."
Last
year, GBG attended around 20 dug out setts in total, Information
gathered at the scene suggests the diggers were from outside
Gwent And
Mr Clark says this attack has further worrying implications.
"We
have a database of 300 to 400 setts across Gwent and this
one was not on our list, which means these diggers really
know what they're doing," he said. "We
are grateful to the officers who attended the incident
for their rapid response to track down these barbaric
individuals."
He
is urging people to call the GBG hotline if they suspect
people are badger digging or baiting on 07831 623627 or
via their website www.gwentbadgergroup.org.uk
Source : South Wales Argus
South Wales identified as worst area in the
UK for badger diggers
The
Gwent Badger Group (GBG) is appealing to the public to
assist them in combating the evil practice of badger digging
and baiting.
Following
a report from a member of the public on New Years Eve,
the Group was horrified at the scene they discovered in
the area known as Goytre Wharf north of Pontypool.
Steve
Clark, Chairman of GBG explained “An area three
metres long over the sett had been disturbed and logs
had been jammed down into the hole prior to it be backfilled”
When
the logs were removed the true extent of the damage was
revealed. “We found that the hole had been dug to
a depth of two metres which indicates a determined effort
to take a badger” continued Steve.
From
further observations of the way in which the sett was
dug the Group is convinced that this offence was carried
out by hardened wildlife criminals. “If they have
pulled a badger from this sett it would have been taken
away to be baited with dogs” said Steve. “It
is common practice for baiters to break a badger’s
leg with a spade or pull its front claws out to weaken
it before forcing it to fight with dogs. The badger would
meet a slow, agonising death and often one or more of
the dogs will be injured in the fight. However, the owners
do not seek veterinary treatment for their dogs because
of the illegal nature of their activity.”
“We
need the public’s help in combating these brutal
acts of animal cruelty” said Steve. “We work
closely with the Police and other Wildlife Protection
Agencies to track down these persecutors, but we need
the information; the public are our eyes and ears in tackling
these crimes.”
The
Group recently campaigned alongside Naturewatch and Crimestoppers
after South Wales was identified as the worst area in
the UK for badger diggers. “It’s not a title
that we should be proud of” Steve comments.
The
punishment for badger digging can be severe. Under the
Protection of Badgers Act fines of up to £5,000
and six months prison sentence can be imposed, in addition
to confiscation of vehicles and other property. Furthermore,
the recently introduced Hunting Act restricts the killing
of foxes; the excuse often used by diggers as a cover
for taking badgers
The
GBG has a 24 hour emergency “hot-line” which
members of the public can use to alert them of offences
against badgers.
Steve
explained “The information we need is a description
of the suspects plus the details of any suspicious vehicles;
type, colour and registration number. But we urge the
public not to approach these people as they can be aggressive.
CALL
US IN CONFIDENCE 07831 623627
CRIMESTOPPERS
0800 555 111
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR VISITORS
Another
year has passed and we have archived our fourth year of
news and goings on in the year that saw the GBG rear our
smallest cubs ever rescued, we also had a few other rescues
mostly road collisions and unfortunately 100% fatalities,
some years this happens but we still do everything we
can to ensure badgers in gwent get the fastest response
from us and only the best in health care.
In
2007 we saw a bit too much rain, but we made sure we fitted
in every show we could and the GBG would like to thank
everyone who came to the events and made donations and
purchaces from the GBG, we would als like to thank all
the new members for joining up, nice to have you all aboard.
TB
a major part of 2007 so much in fact we opened a new webpage
to cope with all the news regarding the matter, the GBG
and other welsh groups have been fighting the welsh corner
with the help of the Badger Trust and Mr Trevor Lawson
whose advice and statements to the Welsh Assembly Gov
were outstanding, and we would like to thank all involved
in the 2007 fight and ask them to be prepared for another
round in 2008. It aint over yet! TB
NEWS CLICK HERE
Besides
all that we have mentioned above we are still fighting
the crime corner for badgers, which has led to new developments
in crime detection and fighting, more to come in 2008,
we have also been able to move up a gear in our educational
talks as we now have all new digital presentation equippment
for a more enhanced talk, so no doubt more social and
wildlife groups along with schools and adult education
alike will benifit from this new facility.
The
GBG would like to thank Secret World Wildlife Rescue for
all the assistance given in the rearing of the cubs and
for an excellent wildlife first aid training course which
i'm sure will benefit our rescue officers greatly, and
last but not least Mr Ian Calvert and the Staff and Vets
at the Chepstow Vet Health Centre for all the hard work
and fitting us in with the shortest of notice THANK YOU
In
all 2007 was a quieter year but we did not work any less,
this year will see even better standards of rescue, education
and dedication from our hard working team. Bring
on 2008 we are ready for it. THE GBG TEAM To
View 2007 News Click here
Drivers
Keep your eyes open
The
Gwent Badger Group is urging drivers too keep their eyes
open when driving in the early evening and at night as
badger activity is high at this time of year. We
have had quite a lot of calls to dead badgers on the road
in our area and the busy period has not really begun yet
so it could possibly get many more calls.Hitting a badger
is not only distressing but can cause severe damage to
your car as some badgers are quite big.
To
help avoid hitting a Badger The Group has the following
advice to motorists,
Always
be vigilant when driving in the following area’s
Country
roads
Near woodland or forest roads
Places where the hedgerow meets the road
Always use caution where you see a wildlife signs
To
find out what to do if you do hit a badger Click
here
To
report a dead badger Click
here
The GBG has now started to use the popular
Skype program to educate and chat to people online with
any badger related topics, there will be somebody online
between the hours of 8-10pm most nights so if you have
Skype use the info below to get hold of one of our staff.
Skype contacts :
Gwent
Badger Group Mike
Gwent
Badger Group Steve
Get
Skype here once installed
use the search to find us and the good news it's completly
FREE to get and use.
