Today's Wildlife Encounter

[wharfeego]

While I don't condone illegal persecution of birds, I can understand that a gamekeeper has a conflict of interests as his/her livelihood is directly related to keeping lots of birds alive and in one area.

What would a system look like that made it in gamekeepers' interests to allow eagles (and eg, hen harriers)? Maybe this should be a separate thread.

The "conflict of interests" is the sole reason why they kill birds of prey but that's illegal.
And that is why there is a call for a ban on driven grouse shooting simply because the "system" would not work without removing raptors.

Have you read Mark Avery's book "Inglorious"?

[William Clough]

When we were on the Isle of Mull a few years ago the wildlife guy said that local farmers are compensated for the loss of any lambs with a one off payment.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over a few game keepers losing their jobs after the big hits the miners, steel workers and ship builders have taken.

[MattPo]

Well though it's gamekeepers who shoot the raptors it's their masters that have the major responsibility. They often have good contacts and pay their keepers fines for carrying out their orders.

[sbrt]

Lots of crows carrying sticks

[anthonykay]

There are urban badgers (as well as foxes) near where I live. This morning I was cycling into town and saw the flattened corpse of one of the badgers in the middle of the road. Sad.

[Mossdog]

Swallows - Hoooray! 6 pm this evening, Dentdale. Four of them swooping over the lambs. summer's here. Although there was a brief snow flurry afterwards

[anthonykay]

The slaughter goes on: two more dead badgers, a few hundred metres apart on the same road (a busy rural road just outside Loughborough, about two miles from where I saw a dead badger yesterday). Who needs the DEFRA badger cull when we have the great British motorist? Or is there something more sinister going on?

[William Clough]

Not sure how true it is but I was once told that some land owners will a kill a badger then leave it by the roadside to be run over. I'm not into conspiracy theories but there are a lot of dead badgers on the roads.

[molehill]

Badgers have no road sense and the roads are slaughter at this time of year.
Due to their high numbers they are not the most loved creatures by all, plenty of drivers accelerate when they see one, though tends to be very costly in car repairs if you hit one.
It is estimated 50,000 a year die on roads, so not unusual to see a few.

[William Clough]

Badgers have no road sense....

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I beg to differ, I think you will find some badgers have excellent road sense.