Never Piss Off A REAL Naturalist (I am NOT playing at being one)

 This was just sent out to all Bristol wildlife groups online. Angry does not cover how I am feeling.

"I am finding it really hard to believe that after all of these months I am having to write this again.

I set up the British Fox Study in 1976, based in Bristol.

This year I attempted to monitor the mange outbreak in Bristol via local Face Book wildlife groups. One or two helpful people but the biggest response was negative and eventually the study was dropped.

In June I was made aware of seemingly healthy foxes dying suddenly. Poison was strongly suspected or, possibly a disease. Official bodies such as the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme, DEFRA etc were all disinterested. I spent every day and even until 2-3 am to get evidence and material together and push and pester these bodies until I got Post Mortem Services to accept foxes for investigation. This cost time, money and some of my health.

Bristol City Council refused to cooperate when the investigation started indicating poison was involved. Two fox carcasses were seen by witnesses to have been picked up by the council which then told me it had no record of them (after the street clean team told me they had them). Another fox “went missing” from a council storage site. For this reason BCC was no longer informed about these dead foxes.

We discovered via post mortems that two out of three foxes (therefore notable) had unexplained jaundice –this investigation is ongoing and involves experts in Europe. The most recent fox was found to have been poisoned and this involved international cooperation –an official report was presented to the WIIS for further action.

Every step of the way I have reported on the incidents to alert everyone and explain what is going on and what has been found out.

I am HERE you can contact me via Messenger and if the fox death matches the criteria we have it can be collected for post mortem. Contacting unofficial bodies that cannot carry out post mortems and all the testing is pointless. They mostly have shown no interest in the Bristol cases. The City Council will just collect and incinerate and the evidence is gone.

I can arrange the collections and deal with all the official forms and know that the dead fox will be thoroughly investigated. The police play no part in this as they have been extremely unhelpful to say the least and the term “Wildlife Crime” is used to describe a suspected poisoning and whether deliberate or accidental is up to the pathologist to decide.

After all these months I thought everyone would be on board with this but instead I get attitude.

I may very well just opt out of the entire investigation because if I cannot rely on the support of local wildlife groups then what is the point –let the foxes and badgers carry on getting poisoned."

The Red Paper: Canids

 

 

202 Pages

 A4

maps, illustrations and photographs

Price: £20.00 (excl. VAT)

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http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-red-paper-canids/paperback/product-23742681.html

The Red Paper: Canids Up-dated  edition includes section on sarcoptic mange in foxes and treatment plus a list of wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres in the UK.

By the 1700s the British fox was on the verge of extinction and about to follow the bear and wolf having been hunted for sport for centuries. The answer was to import thousands of foxes per year for sport. But foxes kept dying out so jackals were tried. Some were caught, some escaped. Even wolves and coyote were released for hunting.

The summation of over 30 years research reveals the damnable lie of "pest control" hunting but also reveals the cruelty the animals were subject to and how private menageries as well as travelling shows helped provide the British and Irish countryside with some incredible events.

Protect Local Wildlife

 Working in wildlife and being a naturalist means that you are in a war.

No exaggeration.

We have foxes still being hunted cruelly and if someone local to a hunt protests over it -simply stating "I do not approve of hunting"- then they and their families can become victims to bulling, trolling online and even have deliberate damage caused to property -and be assaulted. In the case of protesting against badger baiting (supposedly illegal since the badger is a protected species) opponents cannot just be beaten up but be scarred for life by weapons.

That is what pro hunt people do to humans.

When it comes to badgers and foxes there is no such thing as cruelty -it is stated in many 'sports' books from the "Golden Age of Hunting" in the19th century that it is cruel however there is "the pleasure derived from the sport". Cruelty to their own hounds and horses is of little consequence -just animals.

I am, not going to get into an anti-hunting post since the 'sport' (as they still call it openly) wiped out the native British Old Fox types by the late 19th century and that after all the 'sportsmen'-authors noted how hunting was driving those foxes to extinction...they carried on killing in the most idiotic way -breeding pairs, cubs and even pregnant vixens -it was part of the 'sport'.

We know that pro hunt supporters are seeded into wildlife groups on social media such as Face Book and they watch wildlife blogs closely. There is no secret about this. Therefore the rule should always be never ever give out the location of badgers or foxes. The number of badgers sold to taxidermists that are all "road kill" is suspicious. But we know foxes and badgers are snared, poisoned and killed in other ways.

Yes, take photos of badgers or foxes and share but -again- never ever give out lovcations let alone as I have seen on groups "this badger comes along Any Road by Any Park every night at 9pm" which gives location and when the badger can be sighted and followed.

It may sound like a broken record but protect local wildlife!