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'Roadkill' badgers were killed with illegal snare



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TWO badgers were killed illegally in snares and then dumped to be disguised as roadkill, it has been claimed.
The badgers were discovered with their necks broken at the side of a road near Duns in Berwickshire.

The organisation Scottish Badgers said the latest deaths confirm their suspicion that badgers are being killed illegally in snares.

Lothian and
Borders Police are investigating the incident, and campaign groups have again called for a ban on snaring.

Ian Hutchison, species protection officer at Scottish Badgers, said: "When a badger is trapped in a snare, then the struggle to free itself often leads to the death or severe injury to the badger.

"Snares are meant to restrain animals until such time as the person who set the snare comes along and either humanely dispatches the target species, or releases the non-target species unharmed. Clearly, this has not happened here and both animals have had their necks broken by the snares – one had almost been beheaded."

Ross Minett, the campaigns director for Advocates for Animals, added: "We have campaigned, along with Scottish Badgers and other welfare and conservation groups, for an outright ban on snares. These traps are far too widely used and far too easy to misuse. Until they are seen for what they are – lethal, indiscriminate and unacceptable – tragic incidents of this type will keep occurring."

Badgers have been protected since an act was introduced in 1992, while the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 introduced tougher penalties against those caught committing crimes against badgers.





The full article contains 260 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 14 May 2008 9:51 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

,

15/05/2008 09:11:04
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
2

Upbeat,

15/05/2008 09:19:34
Mr Minett again publicises an aspect of country life which is impossible to oversee or regulate.

Education among those who might operate snares professionally has never been more widely available. Placing this discussion day after day in the full glare of the national press, will worsen the problem , not make it go away.

It is the work of a few minutes for anyone to make a snare. Irresponsible people who might never have considered experimenting with snares are being reminded , almost daily , by the likes of Mr Minett that they too can make and place a snare ... To judge by the antics of many in suburban Britain ... who can ever be certain that these louts are not now doing this for "fun" ? just to see what will happen ?
3

Biker,

Ayr 15/05/2008 09:55:07
Upbeat. Sorry but I dissagree with you. Placing this disgrace firmly in the headlines places the issue where it belongs, for all to see and judge the stupidity of the offenders.
You seem to wish to take "country folk" out of the equasion with your post, and again I dissagree. It is inded the same people who set these despicable traps time after time. Fun I doubt it, more like a sense of missguided country lore.
4

Upbeat,

15/05/2008 10:33:20
3

You have no evidence that many of the headlines that relate to this subject are not contrived. I have no positive evidence that they are....just a gut feeling that publicising this issue is likely to increase the use of snares not the other way around.

BTW : Notice the use of inverted commas around the word "Fun"......This is the same context as it being " fun" to place objects onto the railway tracks,drop bricks from motorway bridges, spray aerosol graffitti over public spaces and stick a knife into anybody with whom a quarrel is engaged .

The irresponsible will find all types of "amusements" to fill their idle hours...always have... always will.

There is a carcase of a roadkill(?)hind not far from here. It has been lying on the roadside for almost ten days now. It could possibly have been dumped by someone who shot it illegally. Has anyone bothered to check ? ..of course not....another road death of a hind in the highlands is not newsworthy..... the corpse of a badger or two is ...and merits costly and intricate forensic examination. How that reflects on the society we live in is for others to judge. I have my own conclusions.

Finally your attempt to draw some divisive distinction about louts...No , the irresponsible 'louts' do not only inhabit the towns as you seem to imply, but there are certainly many more of them who fail to lead a worthwhile life, living there !

5

Upbeat,

15/05/2008 12:08:23
For a moment let's consider this issue in the unemotional "light of day".

Who in any reasonable society , would have the motivation to take a snared corpse and dump it on the roadside in full view, to be observed and perhaps recovered by someone concerned enough to report the grisly find to the authorities.?

In whose interests could it possibly be to display the effects of snaring an animal so openly ? Obviously , to most informed people...it serves the managers of the land adjacent to this latest "find" in no way at all, to have the fingers of responsibility pointed in their direction..so in all nromal circumstances they can be excluded from the list of suspects.

So, seriously, ask yourself, who might have done such a blatant bit of self promotion concerning an already highly charged issue ? Whose interests could possibly be best served by this or any highly controversial "wildlife crime" ?
No one who did not really hope and want these corpses to be found ...obviously ....
6

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 15/05/2008 13:28:59
"...and campaign groups have again called for a ban on snaring."

And a ban on snaring would stop this ILLEGAL ACTIVITY would it? Don't be daft. You are living in dreamland as usual.
7

Maurice,

Fife 15/05/2008 13:45:36
According to the pro-snare lobyists, this type of thing NEVER happens (see past threads on banning of snares) Every snare owner religously checks their snares and only vermin are caught. You barbaric twits.
5 Upbeat, Some folk are either just plain thoughtless, ignorant, stupid or a combnation of the 3 so I can see some that would dump the carcass to get it off their land. Property ownership is not in relation to intelligence.
8

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 15/05/2008 14:06:52
Maurice,

I'm not "pro-snare". However I'm not anti-snare either.

I am anti-knee-jerk and I am anti-making-judgements-without-knowing-the-facts. I also happen to be anti-jumping-on-the-bandwagon and anti-people-not-using-their-brains.
9

Upbeat,

15/05/2008 16:42:54
Maurice,

You sidestep the main point. By saying say "I can see some that would dump the carcass to get it off their land."

The point remains : There are many activist people with an ulterior motive who would wish to dump a carcase along the roadside in the hope that next time they drive along they can " find it " and report the find to the authorities. these people are the ones who seek a ban on the use of snares.

If you really cannot -or will not - accept this point there is little about the work of pressure groups attempting to sway public opinion that you show yourself capable of understanding.

No one...but no one.... who was not involved in this type of activity... would ever think to throw a carcase on a roadside verge. Most passers by who " find" a carcase would walk on by, thankful that they or their dog had not touched it. A small minority might bother to take the matter to the authorities, and get involved in form filling and interviews etc. THIS is modern day human nature at work.

10

Maurice,

Fife 15/05/2008 16:52:37
8 Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head, The facts are simple: snares are indiscriminate and very very cruel. If you have ever seen an animal that has been caught, struggled or died in a snare you may see this fact. Personally I have on very numerous occasions. These methods are banned in Africa where people have used them (and still are), not to keep that pesty fox at bay from the sporting pheasants or the bunnies from eating the clematis, but who desperately need the food in whatever form they can get it so their children can last another week without dying of starvation. a very alien concept to most in the British Isles. So if theyre not allowed to, why should some wealthy estate owner have the right. I say again, snares are indiscriminate and very very cruel. Snares in all forms should be banned from civilized society (and the UK)This is the fact. And if youre implying that its me jumping on the bandwagon, well Ive been on it since very early in the 1980's, collected well in excess of 30000 snares in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and acted as advisor to numerous conservation projects. I can also set them so i doubt my knowing the facts is in question here.
11

Biker,

Ayr 15/05/2008 19:45:14
Maurice. We seem to have got off on the wrong foot here. I personally am anti snare, they are as you say indescriminate and cruel and I abhore their use. My comment is that the dumping of these unfortunate animals needs to be advertised. I dont consider for a moment that this brings the snarers out of the woodwork. Only people who know what to look for on a track or field would know where to set a snare for maximum effect.
12

Saoghal Beag,

15/05/2008 22:08:56
upbeat, these are not roads in the central belt, even the main roads in berwickshire could hradly be considered busy, so dumping a carcasse at the road side is actaully very easily done without being seen.

the snare must have been set near a badger sett, and no doubt the hics that set them knew what they were up to.

i am not sure what sort of rural idyl with friendly country folk you are thinking off but it certainly is not berwickshire.
13

Upbeat,

16/05/2008 10:01:09
12 There is absolutely no need to be personal about this....neither to lecture me on the state roadside verges in Berwickshire or anywhere else. What your reference to the Central belt has to do with anything is known only to you. Read my various posts again and you will realise that your post can be seen as an over reaction to my assertion. Pay attention to the Scotsman comment boards and you will observe that Upbeat is frequently more concerned about events in the Highlands anyway.

I never spoke of the nature of the roadside verge. There was also no discussion about rural idylls or lifestyles at all.

There was no mention of where the badgers had been trapped. All there was was the suggestion that badgers and other provocative " criminal acts" against wildlife may be being deliberately positioned : in this case badger carcases placed on a roadside verge so that they could be " found" . This in the expectation that someone concerned enough would report the " find" to the authorities.

Most people casually walking /driving along would not have taken any further action.

Who placed them there is open to speculation. The motive for doing so is totally debatable...and that is what this comment board is all about...debate, not being rude to each other.

This is all I was saying....it was a point about human nature.
14

Maurice,

Fife 16/05/2008 11:34:52
9 Upbeat,This I cannot deny or confirm and it would be an awful shame if conservation minded people were dumping carcasses so they can be found. I doubt this personally. I can say that since I have been resident in Scotland, I have reported every badger roadkill I have spotted to Scottish Badgers and I believe every one has been investigated. The last was in Fife where I spotted 2 men next to the carcass. They investigated and I beleive it was found to be a bona fida roadkill. Some have also dissapeared from where they were killed. As kills are mostly spotted during the day I doubt these are foxes removing them. I believe they are removed by folk wanting a pelt for a sporran or similar. I have no problem with this as long as there is some system in place to register the kill and have it inspected to assertain the cause of death. I have a wee hobby of curing skins off loads of animals I find (unless protected) they are wonerful educational aids for the kids who get to touch and feel. Theyre always amazed at the texture. The soft mole-skins are always a favorite for them.
15

Angus,

Alexandria 21/05/2008 22:33:41
Biker

I agree with you.

Only pro-snare people are sick enough to think that this is some form of conspiricy.

Obviously those who snared the badgers were after some other wildlife and when they foun the badgers they thought they could disguise them as road kills.


 

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