Latest News

Latest news about the Welsh Assembly Cull of Badgers.

Imperial College London and the Zoological Society both have carried out detailed studies of the effects of Badger Culls and they state “that the method of trying to reduce cattle tb by killing Badgers is not cost effective and any beneficial effects are lost after only four years” .

Yet another scientist Dr Chris Cheesman an ex-senior scientific advisor to the government said “The decision to cull Badgers is perverse and could make matters worse”

Please note that there is to be a demonstration against the killing of Badgers; to be held outside the Welsh Assembly on 8th March 2010 at 11.45am. Will all those who oppose the killing of these innocent animals please come along and register their protest.

Many scientists and celebrities support our campaign so come along and lets put a stop to this killing of wildlife once and for all.

Another badger snared in the Brecon area.

The RSPCA have brought in another snared badger again from the Brecon area, there are not many details with this one but it is with us in rehab, but again looks in very good condition considering, she was very muddy and has had a good clean up, and will be assessed again in the morning.

4th April

Red Badger Rescued from snare.

A little over two weeks ago The GBG were called to rescue a badger from a snare close to Brecon, the badger had actually been snared at an unknown location and had returned snare and all to the sett which was in the callers garden.

Unlucky for this badger you might say, well lucky for her the snare got snagged on some large twigs and kept the badger above ground where she could be spotted and the snare dealt with.

A GBG rescue team got to the scene and the badger was cut free and caged, she was then taken to the vet to have the remainder of the snare removed and get examined.

After the snare was removed it was discovered that it had done no damage to the skin and she was in tip top condition apart from the odd flea, so she was kept in rehab over night ready for release the following evening.

We took the badger back to the garden sett which is well monitored by the owners who will keep an eye out for more snares and watch the badgers very closely.

How can you top a story like that, well the badger we rescued was a Red or Erythristic Badger, same markings as the black and white we all know but red instead of black, a very nice variant and a real pleasure to spend a little time with, there are a few in the sett along with the normal coloured badgers, have a look at the photos to see this wonderful animal.

Welsh Assembly Announce Badger Cull

This afternoon (March 24th) the long threatened announcement of a badger cull to take place in Wales was announced by the Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones. The area chosen is in North Pembrokeshire and will cover an area of 200 square kilometres.
West Wales has the highest incidence of Bovine TB in Britain.

Ms Jones says she hopes that legislation will be put in place to allow the “work” to begin next month. This will be in the close season when cubs will still be underground and feeding from the sows. Presumably when sows in milk are caged and shot the cubs left to starve will be considered as “collateral” damage and will merely raise more cheers from the farmers, vets and fox-hunting MPs.

It is expected that this cull will take five years to take to complete. The badgers will probably be cage-trapped and shot.

Already from all over Wales we hear of the illegal killing of badgers by farmers who already felt that they had been given the green light to go ahead and slaughter any badgers on their land. Elin jones has made statements in the past which they feel have given them justification for this.

Steve Clark, Badger Trust Cymru, said that the Minister had ignored the weight of scientific opinion and by combining badger culling with other TB control measures in the same area Ms Jones will not be able to differenciate the effectiveness of each measure. r

We now wait to see what steps the Badger Trust will take and whether a judicial review against the cull can be considered as the next step.

News catch up,

• Possible badger cull in Wales.

We hear rumours that an announcement regarding a proposed cull may be made in late March/early April – such a cull possibly to take place in Monmouthshire. This is very disturbing news.

• Northern Ireland.

Plans have been announced for a probable badger cull in a selected area of Northern Ireland. This is despite the fact that in Southern Ireland where thousands of badgers have been slaughtered Bovine TB is apparently on the increase whilst in Northern Ireland where there has been no killing of badgers (until now) Bovine TB has been steadily declining. Members on-line can visit the site of the Northern Ireland Badger Group where it is possible to sign an anti-culling letter/petition. Web address www.badgersni.org.uk

• Woodland.

As members will know the Group had the good fortune to be left a small woodland in mid Gwent together with a legacy of £2000 in the will of Mrs. Zena Oakey. The woodland has a good population of badgers who can be relied upon (at least 99% of the time) to put in an appearance for watchers. Many people have already had the pleasure of a successful watch and we hope in the summer months that many more of our members will enjoy this experience.

• WANTED

A very small band of members have been working on clearing bracken and undergrowth in this wood land. Help with this task would be greatly appreciated. Helping would also be a chance for members to become more actively engaged with the Group – something which is much needed.

• Christmas event.

This was a great evening – forty members attended – the surprise of the evening was the stupendous three course dinner. Delicious soup and main courses cooked single-handedly by our Treasurer Tony Croke and the desserts provided by ladies of the Group. The meal was followed by a very entertaining talk by Mike Cordell from Ruadean in the Forest of Dean who spoke about Birds of Prey. He brought with him a red-tailed buzzard, a scops owl and a kestrel all of which he flew in the hall and then several members were delighted to be able to fly the birds themselves. A great evening.

• Mike Edwards.

Members who attend our events will know Mike – he has demonstrated all the rescue gear he has used in the many call-outs to injured badgers he has undertaken in the past four years. He has now moved into a wider field of animal rescue and care by setting up his own organisation – City Wildlife Care. He rescues, cares for and returns to the wild any injured wildlife creature. He has a very well equipped unit, great support from his local veterinary practice and in his small team is a veterinary nurse. He has already been called out to foxes, a polecat, badger and a wide variety of birds. He will continue to pick-up and care for badgers for our Group. We all wish him and his team the best of luck in his new venture.

• Coed Chambers.

The reserve at Coed Chambers continues to be of interest – but at the moment the badgers seem to have become very shy. The round walk put in by David Parsons gives great views to the Skirrid, and passes the pond which we hope will soon be full of frog or toad spawn. David is planning to put in a second pond which should bring in more wild-life. The bird population is good – and as the coniferous woodland has been cleared so habitat has opened up to attract in a wider variety of bird-life.

• HELP NEEDED AGAIN Shows and events.

The Group display and fund raising sales goods are taken to a variety of shows throughout the summer. We have chosen to go to smaller events as the cost, even for charities, to attend larger ones had become exorbitant. A small band of members have taken on this task – now because of unforeseen circumstances we are down to three so we are putting out a call for helpers. We go to such events as the Wetlands Open Day, the Garn Lakes Open Day etc. These bring in much needed revenue but unfortunately without additional helping hands we will have to cut back our attendances. So, we are asking if any members would offer to help us.

• Zena’s Wood.

The entrance to the reserve was very overgrown and the broken gate and undergrowth have been removed. In order to improve this entrance we have had to apply for planning permission. It is intended that the gate will be further into the wood with a hard core track leading to it so that any visiting car is off the lane. For safety fencing is to be put in along the top if the small quarry in the wood.

Badgers have been visiting throughout the winter – appearing at the moment at about 6.30pm. Malcolm Jones who keeps a constant watch on the reserve has been listening at the sett entrances for sounds of cubs – so far no luck.

• Would any member wishing to receive information via e-mail please send their e-mail address to the Secretary, John Kennett at - elmtree464@aol.com

In and Out

Only a week into 2009 and we have had our first Badger.

This is the best type of rescue when there is very little time in captivity, we just give them a quiet night to get over the hangover and then straight back to the wild, so the first badger was a success lets hope this continues for the rest of the year.