Lancashire Badger Group

Annual General Meeting (AGM) Report 2004

17th April 2004

After the usual excellent hotpot/cheesebake supper, this year's meeting, (17th April 2004 at Broughton Village Hall) was followed by an interesting slideshow kindly given by Andrew Greenwood from the Lancashire Countryside Service, on the subject of the Birds of Bowland. The Forest of Bowland is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty comprising several SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and recognized as being of international importance through the European designation of a Special Protection Area. Ancient semi-natural woodlands support a rich variety of insect life for birds, whilst rough pastures provide extensive habitat for ground-nesting birds and the sparkling water of the area's rivers and streams are home to birds such as dippers and kingfishers which need unpolluted water to survive.

Minutes of the last Meeting and committee business was followed by a special vote of thanks to retiring committee members: Chairman Nick McKeown and Membership Secretary Jan Valentine. Along with a bouquet for Mrs. Valentine and a framed print by artist Geoff Rollingson of Ribchester (appropriately inspired by a visit to the Group's ever popular badgerwatching hide) for Mr. McKeown, both were presented with Life Membership of the Group as a token of appreciation for their indefatigable work in its behalf.

Membership remains buoyant, and reserves last year were boosted by £1,500.00 received from the Wild Valley Project, which also raised cash for the R.S.P.B. and Rossendale's Search and Rescue team. Finances remain healthy, with Ribble Valley Borough Council's donation being spent on a laptop computer to aid in sett recording and co-ordination, and 16 fee-earning land surveys during the year carried out by members as part of the Environmental checks which are increasingly a feature of Planning applications, to ensure that no badger setts are destroyed during development work. The Group continues to give educational slideshow talks and is now listed on the Lancashire County Council Education List so that schools looking for speakers can more easily request a presentation.

The Group is still on the lookout for a woodland area or other piece of land comprising a badger sett. Badgerwatching facilities could be provided and would represent good educational and recreational opportunities, taking advantage of the growing interest in wildlife tourism nationally.

Thirty badgers were reported killed on Lancashire's roads in the year: this is estimated to be about a third of the actual figure, with many casualties remaining unreported. This time of year sees the heaviest road casualties because badgers are moving around more. On a lighter note, people are reporting seeing more badgers about, and one hypothesis is that global warming has meant that infant mortality may have decreased owing to milder weather conditions. However, dry summers would have an adverse effect on the wellbeing of the badger because hard-baked soils are much more difficult to dig in in search of food, and the earthworms which form the main staple of a badger's diet move to moister soils at lower levels in very dry weather.

 A vote was taken and the motion passed to increase the Group's membership fee by £1, to £10. Our affiliation to the National Federation of Badger Groups involves paying them a portion of the membership income; this has gone up to £2 this year and the increase is to cover this. Representatives from the Lancashire Badger Group regularly attend the N.F.B.G. Conference (this year on the 16th, 17th and 18th of July in Giggleswick, Yorkshire - details on the N.F.B.G. website). The Group applauds the N.F.B.G.'s tireless efforts on behalf of the British badger, in particular its efforts to present objective unbiased information on the situation regarding bovine tuberculosis and its transmission to the badger population. Whilst Lancashire's badgers continue to remain TB-free, this cattle disease is unfortunately on the increase in other parts of Britain despite the culling of badger populations in affected areas. The Group will attend D.E.F.R.A.'s consultation meeting in Kendal later this year. An in-depth briefing paper on the subject of bovine TB and the reasoning behind the badger cull may be found, along with a Question-and-Answer section, on the N.F.B.G. website.

The Group joined over 300 local people in objecting to a planning proposal near Dutton, which would have involved the development of some prime badger habitat. The proposal was refused but an Appeal is expected. Another badger sett brought to the Group's attention was under some sheds on a site about to be developed. A badger consultant was called in to advise the builder, who fortunately is himself a wildlife enthusiast.

The Group's Chairman Paul Shoreman also wrote to the Chief Constable about the decision not to replace Lancashire's excellent Wildlife Liaison Officer, who has stepped down through ill health. Ambiguously, the reply stated that wildlife issues will now be dealt with locally, by "skilled investigators". However, it is felt that local officers will often require briefing by Wildlife groups and lack vital knowledge about legislation and issues on a national as well as local scale, which a designated officer would have at their fingertips. The Group will continue to lobby and monitor the situation.

During the year an injured badger found in the Accrington area had to be euthanised when its injuries, apparently sustained in a fight with another badger, were found to be too extensive for it to survive. Another fight victim was luckier, however. A farmer reported a badger which had come into his lambing shed and was sleeping in the straw in one of the pens all set up for lambing. The R.S.P.C.A. was informed but would not take the badger to a vet. The badger was eventually coaxed into a vehicle and taken to a vet for treatment. The farmer was happy to have the badger returned to the barn. He later reported that, apparently oblivious to the bustle of lambing going on around it, it had enjoyed a few days' quiet rest and recuperation in an unused pen, after which it quietly left of its own accord.