Annual General Meeting (AGM) Report 2007

21st April 2007

Talk by Dr Richard Yarnell of the Badger Trust wildlife charity

After another excellent hotpot/cheesebake supper, this year's meeting, (21st April 2007 at Broughton Village Hall) was followed by a presentation from the new Chief Executive of the Badger Trust, Dr. Richard Yarnell, who came to the Badger Trust after extensive work with species as diverse as hedgehogs, Veldt rats, brown hyenas and meerkats. He hopes his appointment will enable him to see recommendations formulated through research being carried out for the benefit of badgers and the ecology.

Woodchester Park has been the centre of badger research for 20 years. Ninety percent of the badgers in the valley are caught about four times a year; the high capture rate is suspected to be the result of badgers getting "trap-happy", finding this a fair exchange for the free peanuts! They are tattooed and blood, sputum and temperature sampled to provide an accurate health profile of the badger population. Dr. Yarnell described another technique for assessing badger numbers in an area where capture is not feasible. Using spotlights, numbers actually seen at night from a prescribed line walked through an area are correlated using sophisticated range-finding equipment (actually designed to allow golfers to assess driving distances). This allows the calculation of population density when the figures are adjusted using a computer programme to allow for terrain (fewer animals will be visible in hilly or wooded terrain). A comparison of numbers revealed by both methods enables population figures to be adjusted where only the observation method is possible.

The Ecological Consequences team at Woodchester has been able to show what happens when badgers are removed from a balanced ecosystem.

• Fox numbers increase
• Numbers of hares decrease

Other interesting finds included the number of active setts not being indicative of actual badger population. It is thought that in a crowded sett the females have suppressed breeding capability as a result of increased competition for living space and associated stress. This is not the case where the population can spread out amongst available setts, so the population tends to regulate itself to an optimum level. Of interest with regard to the TB problem was that numbers of badgers in an area is not related to the prevalence of TB within a group: but the number of occupied setts was. It is possible that infected badgers show different behaviour as a result of illness and tend to live apart from the group, or they may be actively excluded by the healthy individuals. So just because there are large numbers of badgers in a TB area it does not follow that more will have TB: however if those affected cannot move away into outlying setts, the infected few will be forced into closer proximity with the others and the potential for the disease to be passed to more individuals will be increased accordingly. Organizations contemplating destroying unoccupied setts to prevent TB spread should take note!

DEFRA continues to ignore the burgeoning body of research which shows that culling badgers actually makes the matter worse. Even if a known infected population is culled (and it is notoriously difficult to assess whether individuals are infected without killing them, so any assessment must be at best a guess), the evidence shows that areas adjoining the cull then show increased TB outbreaks: i.e. the immediate area is improved but the problem is magnified by infected individuals (probably already living in outlying setts apart from the main group) being forced out into surrounding areas. DEFRA seem to act on the principle that, looking only at the target area, the situation is improved; but they do not take into consideration the exacerbating effect on adjoining areas and appear unable to recognize the proof that they are making the problem worse. It is thought that they wish to appear to be doing something, even if counterproductive, in order to appease the NFU lobby who have also failed to understand the research and are reluctant to take pro-active measures involving improved cattle husbandry to wipe out this cattle disease. In any case, the NFU are attempting to utilize a loophole in the Law which allows a licence to be granted to cull animals known to be infected and representing a risk. They have persuaded several farmers, whose combined landholdings amount to a substantial area, to apply for these licences. The Badger Trust can take the matter to court to show that the applications are not based on proper evidence and that cattle testing is inadequate for risk assessment. The Applications are currently delayed pending a Ministerial decision.

While Lancashire's badgers remain free of TB, the Group is supportive of other areas whose badgers are not so lucky, and a donation from funds to the Badger Trust's TB fighting fund was announced accordingly.

The Meeting

Chairman Paul Shoreman conducted the meeting with the help of badger photos taken at the Group's hide by member Simon Mason. Business discussed included a request for volunteers for the positions of Secretary and Vice Chairman. Helpers at Event stalls and at the newly refurbished hide are also always welcome. The Committee was re-elected as it stands.

During the year Membership has remained stable. It is proposed to hold the popular Badger Training Day on an annual basis from now on, and new equipment has been purchased for the extra people now giving talks and presentations about badgers on the Group's behalf. The Group is to get a brand-new website later this year, and its profile was further raised by an article about the Lancashire Wildlife Officer which appeared in Lancashire Life magazine; the Lancashire Badger Group featured along with other wildlife groups. The excellent new Newsletter reported on various interesting events including the Badger Conference last year at Newport in Derbyshire. Again, members willing to represent the Group by attending the 2007 Conference, to be held at Hayes Conference Centre near Alfreton, will be supported by expenses from Group funds. It was voted to continue making expenses available to volunteers going about Group business for those who need to claim them. The Group is keen to host the Conference in Lancashire again very soon, and preliminary discussions are in hand as to venue and so forth should this prove possible.

Badger Protection News

Construction of artificial Sett

The Group was involved in an interesting artificial sett construction, at Wier in Rossendale, last year. A shed which was to be replaced by a bungalow had badgers living underneath it, and the developer was advised to bring in a badger consultant, who proposed an expensive artificial sett build. The developer was concerned to safeguard the badgers and approached the Group again, and arrangements were made for permissions, volunteers and materials to construct the artificial sett on adjacent land. Each chamber was meshed over and the whole tunnel complex covered with gridmesh before the developer replaced the soil, to render the whole thing impenetrable to would-be badger diggers. It was a few weeks before the badgers were seen to investigate the new sett, at which point their original sett was fitted with a one-way exclusion door, well concreted in to prevent them from simply digging round it to get back in. The badgers are now thought to be breeding in the new sett.

The thorough report presented to English Nature on the painstaking rehoming project represents a useful resource which can be provided to other badger groups for information, and the project as a whole provided the Group useful experience. The developer was so pleased that he made a donation to the Group's funds of over twice the contribution which was requested for materials.

Planning

Increasing development and high horse ownership coupled with the high badger population in ROSSENDALE means that all sizes of development from houses to stables can potentially affect badgers. The Group is paying particular attention to this potential "hot potato". Measures can usually be put in place to protect or rehome badgers: several Planning Applications in Rossendale have been commented on by the Group this year and the unusual step of making a formal objection taken in one case. This refers to a proposal to erect several giant wind turbines at Reaps Moss, which is a special case because it is believed that it would not be possible to put mitigation measures into practice. The badgers in this area live in old mineworkings, many of which are not in Coal Board records. Badgers cannot be excluded from the interconnected tunnel systems, and it is felt that badgers could not therefore be protected from any tunnel collapse or flooding occasioned by works to install the turbine bases accidentally breaching into old mine tunnels.

Incidents

The police investigated a suspected poisoning incident to no avail during the year. Someone had been stuffing potato skins with fat balls laced with slug pellets and putting them down badger holes, but no further evidence could be found.

The Read Old Bridge Incident involved two men from the Nelson area receiving small fines and losing their car. They were arrested near a known sett with spades and blood-covered dogs, but the RSPCA said there wasn't enough evidence to convict on a badger offence. However, the CPS were able to get a conviction under the new Hunting Law, because the men had no permission to be hunting in the area. This is the first time the new legislation has been able to be used in this way.

A sett was destroyed by a Wainhomes development at Britannia near Bacup during the year. The Group visited the site and provided full advice and support to the Developers, but they then apparently employed a badger consultant who okayed works very close to what he claimed was a mere satellite sett. Local people know that was not the case. In any event, at some stage a bulldozer broke through into the sett. The police investigation which followed was unable to accurately pinpoint who was to blame, which meant that no prosecution took place despite the "consultant" having come to their attention on wildlife offences before.

RTAs

Thirty-five badger Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) were dealt with this year - as ever, it is considered that many go unreported. The Police and local Councils inform the Group when a badger RTA is reported; this affords an opportunity to survey the area to find the victim's home sett and identify and action measures which could reduce wildlife mortality on that area's roads in the future. A badger tunnel under a busy road is one such measure currently under negotiation. It is the District Council's duty to remove wildlife RTAs, and the authorities are usually fully co-operative with proposed mitigation measures because what prevents badger RTAs also prevents accidents caused by people swerving to avoid wildlife on the roads.

Barry the Badger hits the Big Time

The Group owns several stuffed badgers which are useful teaching aids in presentations and talks. One of these, named Barry by schoolchildren who enjoyed his participation in one talk, is to be a film star, having been lent to a Computer Generation film company to help them with their design for an animated badger character in a new film. Despite much secrecy there is speculation that this may be the next film in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series! Apparently the character was completely redesigned on receipt of Barry via the "runners" sent specially to collect him. The Group were treated to exclusive pictures of Barry "assisting" the computer experts in the design process!