Badgers to be gassed

On the island of Harris some one had the bright idea to breed mink. The mink were released when the fur trade in mink coats rightly ended. Apparently they thought the mink would die off, they didn't, and being excellent swimmers they spread to most of the islands, They are still being hunted to this day because not only do they eat the birds eggs they go for the many free roaming chickens, which is a new threat here because there are no foxes

Oh I knew that JessM. It made me smile. i was only being light-hearted myself.

And mink are eating watervoles into a rarity. Previously their main predator was otters, who could catch them in the open or in water, but are too big to follow them into their burrows in the banks. Mink are slim enough to follow them home and eat the whole family in their nest.

So we'll go out and try to shoot nocturnal animals in the dark and then wonder why it doesn't work. And gassing, which the government stopped because it was inhumane, is suddenly allowable. Par for the course with politicians really. The thing that really shocked me was that they are not testing all the dead badgers for TB. Surely we need to know what percentage are infected? A small sample from a haul of dead badgers that wasn't as much as you expected to shoot anyway isn't going to tell anyone anything.

Are they not Deedaa? That would seem logical to me

It would be a waste of money. Where would it get them? It is a known fact cattle get tb from badgers, as well as from other sources.

I'm sure they have some kind of night sights. T

They are not going to gas badgers. Nothing has been agreed upon.

Having said that, it is a fact that culling won't work.

If I am correct, the hedgehogs are not being culled but collected and shipped to the mainland.I am sure this was because of the outcry when culling was suggested. I think that the story goes that a well meaning schoolteacher brought 3 hedghogs to South Uist to show the class. They were then released and now the problem is major. The hedgehogs predate on the ground nesting birds' young and eggs. They must be removed from the Outer Isles for the safety of the ground nesting birds. I think I am correct that they are being removed and shipped out.

Oh that's so good!

The fund allowed for the original capture of hedgehogs culminated in it costing around 1,000 per hedgehog captured

Sadly no Flowerofthewest if you look at my earlier post it tells us that they are being killed by lethal injection, being trapped and hunting with dogs. They are trying to do this quickly before animal rights get involved. Knowing things that can happen here I am not convinced they will be killed in a humane way.

this is what the Beeb said in May

Thanks for that Jo8 very interesting, sadly they have changed their minds and are now just out to exterminate them

Exterminate or cull, hebrideanlady? There's a huge difference.

Weather they are culled or exterminated, they are still dead

But as I've said in an earlier post, wild animal numbers need to be controlled if they are causing problems with breeding programmes of other species.

I suggest that you nip up here to see what really happens

If they bred from only three originally, they would have to exterminate them, wouldn' t they? Or, preferably, ship them all off to the mainland.

They used to catch them and take them to a sanctuary on the mainland

PS I have lived here 8yr and don't know anybody that's even seen one

It's taken nearly forty years for the numbers to increase to the point where measures have to be taken to reduce them. I don't suppose a few people woke up one morning and decided to go to the Hebrides and kill all the hedgehogs. Hedgehogs were not supposed to be there in the first place and have no natural predators so it's no wonder their numbers are causing concern.

They can still be removed, but not killed

hebridean, hedgehogs leave their spoor in our garden throughtout their active time of year. We rarely see them because we are not out there at the same time as they are. Doesn't mean they aren't here.

Does removing and re-siting them work? Does anyone know?

You can hear hedgehogs. They rustle in the leaves when you have to get the washing in in the dark.

DH says it's only the hedgehog.

As far as I know they were relocated safely