Imprisonment for Badger Baiters.

The badger baiting gang were given some serious sentencing at Scarboro Magistrates Court.
4 were sent down for 16 weeks, the reality is 8 weeks inside.The 2 who pleaded guilty at the last moment were given 12 weeks suspended .
Prison sentences are rarely given to badger persecutors but the seriousness of this case demanded it.
It was a long drawn out case , it took nearly a full year to come to court, days in court were long and harrowing.
Determination is needed, concentration,a will to see it through. The over whelming thoughts of those poor badgers that were baited and killed remained upper most in my mind throughout.
I'm glad its over and wish the 6 months limit to prison sentences for badger crime was higher.

Since then I've been involved with 3 more cases and so it goes on. North Yorkshire has a bad reputaion for wildlife crime. It is now geting a good hard reputaion for persecuting wildlife abusers. Long may that continue , they need to know if caught here they will be treated with the full force of the law.
The intended badger cull continues to rumble on with the news of 2 trial areas in the south west where badgers are to be culled , free shot in the countryside. This can't be right and should not happen legally.The Badger Trust continue to fight the badgers corner , I just hope they are successful.

This fine pregnant badger was brutally baited and died of loss of blood and trauma on a riverside field close to home.
8 men with 13 dogs , shotguns and rifles were amazingly observed at the scene by the well known wildlife painter Robert Fuller.
He had the courage and presence of mind to photgraph them and call the police.
Sgt Paul Stepehenson arrested the men and spent the next 11 months putting together a well informed and precise case to put before the courts.

I visited the scene on the day after to help gather evidence and produce an expert witness report
for the court process.

We found this foetus torn from the pregnant sow scattered on the field of battle.

This week 7 of the men were convicted at Scarborough Magistrates Court of killing and baiting these animals.
Sentencing will be on 10th January 2012.

It was a harrowing eventful case both at the time and in court.
My grateful thanks to Robert Fuller for standing up for badgers and for being so the right man in the right place that day.
Also to Sgt Paul Stephenson of Malton Police for his diligence and determination to bring these low life's to court.
Thankyou to PC Jez Walmsley the Wildlife Liason Officer at Malton for his help and support throughout.
Also RSPCA Insp. Geoff Edmond, a good friend and supporter of wildlife and badgers in particular for his
expertise and support.
I buried the baited badgers yesterday in sloping woodland in thier home territory.

Late Barn Owls

These beautiful young Barn Owls were found cold and wet on the floor outside a stable.
They were dried out and are feeding well and have just started to fly.
They will be ready to go in mid November, but to release or not ?
Barn Owls had a rough winter and some of the breeding females were not in good enough condition to breed,
so had late broods.
 I have had more youngsters in that did not make it.Will have to wait and see what the waeather is like before I let them go.

This sow badger was found sleeping out in the rain in a back garden on the North York Moors. The kind householder rigged up a warm dry kennel and the badger moved in. She had been there a few days when I called to have a look at her. I took her over to Battleflatts Vets and Mark the vet  x rayed her . She was intact but had an abcess under an ear which needed antibiotics.She ate very well and remained quiet and dignified. After a week she perked up and I took her back. She moved at ease back on a badger path for home. The householder feeds these badgers and knows them well so she was so pleased to see her back.She has not returned to her kennel, but has been back for food.

Mute swan parents tell thier youngsters to clear off at this time of year and they arrive here bewildered and thin. 3 came in with a couple of days, one had been hit by a car standing on the road and had to be put to sleep. One had come from Middlesboro' and could not stand, she ate well and enjoyed the swan company and soon was on her feet.The other was found on the beach at Cayton with a blooded bill and just needed some time out. The adult white female was wondering away from water. She was moulting and could only walk not fly.They all did well and much conversations were heard in the swan pen.

I took them for ringing and release to North Duffield where they joined up with other non breeding birds. They were so pleased to be back in thier element.

A Little Grebe was found in the street in Bridlington unable to get up and go. This juvenile may be a Continental bird flown in tired and lost. The bird was not injured and was left to rest in a warm cupboard and enjoyed dabbling in fresh water overnight. She was released next day on a river where she paddling and dived out of sight.





Travelling Nightjar.

A specialist woodland bird was found on the deck of a freighter in the middle of the North Sea. The bird was exhausted and was kept safe until it docked at Hull 3 days later. The RSPCA were called and the bird was brought here. No one knew what it was and I was first told it was a small bird of prey.It turned out to be a this years juvenile Nightjar. The wild winds of the American hurricane must have blown this bird of course. Nightjar arrive here in the spring and breed in forest clearings feeding on flying moths and insects.They return to warmer climes in September.                         

She faired well and put on weight and flitted confidently round the kitchen. 

Here's my grandaughter Bella checking her out. She already has spatterhawk, badger and hare in her vocabulary , I'm suitably impressed of course ! The Nightjar was b.t.o. ringed and was ready for release. I took her to a mature mixed woodland with airy rides . She sat at ease on my out stretched hand before flitting off into the gloom of dusk.I hope she reaches the warm skies of Africa after her sea going adventures                      

Sparrowhawks, Kestrel and a Beautiful Badger.

Its been a Sparrowhawk fortnight, I've had 6 birds in.
1 had to be put to sleep, as she had a badly smashed wing but the rest all made it back.
This little male only weighed just over 100g. He was found in York unable to fly off .
He was a this years bird, as were the majority of the others ,they just hadn't got the hang of their independance.

Sparrowhawks can be tricky, they are so nervous and shy. I tube feed with critical care as soon as they arrive and leave them to settle in an I.C.box They usually refuse to eat and have to be encouraged by tit bit feeding, trying not to stress them too much at the same time.All the birds were b.t.o. rung before release.

Its grand to see them go back.

A Kestrel was found in West Yorkshire with badly melted feathers, very strange and a mystery as to how it happened. He was brought here by the RSPCA. He was in good bodily condition and a flyer , just. He had no trouble with his breathing and his skin was not touched.
Birds moult thier feathers slowly so they can continue flying and feeding. This bird would not be able to hover as Kestrels do to catch food.
I took him for Andy Forsyth the vet to examine.He would have to be kept in an avairy for months until new moulted feathers come through or given medication to encourage moulting. We're 3 weeks into a 5 week regime of daily medication. He has remained wild and daily tolerates the handling . Fingers crossed that he can go out with new feathers soon.

A young sow badger was found concussed on a grassy verge in Grosmont early one morning.

She was dopey but looked intact and was collected by the RSPCA and taken to Battleflatts vets for assessment.

She came here for some r+r and laid down in the pen sleepy and unaware of her surroundings.
She ate well from the start and moved about at ease with me in the pen which showed she was far from right.

2 weeks later she had improved enornmously and I rang the finder to ask about the area. This little badger nightly visited gardens for peanuts and was seen with her mother on many occasions.

They had missed her as her mother was calling alone to be fed. I arranged to take her back in the evening time to the garden which was yards from her accident.

She boxed well and we drove over the purple moors to Grosmont for her release.

The ladies that found and fed the badgers welcomed her back like an old friend.

She stepped daintily from the box and  knew exactly where she was, stepping over a low fence rail and away home.



Barn Owl and Buzzard Juv's.

This young Barn Owl was found with 3 older siblings in a nest box in the East Riding. Rob Salter, Barn Owl ringer found him just in time.He had an injury to his air sacks which leaked air from his body trapping it under the skin.The air built up and covered the whole body,forcing the bottom bill up so the bird could not eat.He looked bloated and the skin was tight. I had to puncture the taut skin so the bird could eat. He was given antibiotics and a large slit was made so the air could pass through. Once the leaky air sack healed so did the large slit by the side of the shoulder and the bird ate well and was happy again. Rob and I met up again in
Morrisons car park in Beverely and he took him home.His 3 siblings were still in the nest box and he huddled back up in the familiarity of the box and home. A week later Rob was passing by and he looked in to see how things were going.The 4 youngsters hissed thier displeasure at being disturbed again , all looked well and thier was plenty of food in the larder.

A this years Buzzard flew in front of a car during a rain storm near Scarborough. The driver picked her up and tried to release her in a nearby field. She could not fly so I went to collect her. Her breathing was bad, bubbly and heavy. She was left to rest in a quiet pen with food. I took her for Andy Forsyth the vet to exam and  x-ray. She had blood etc in the body cavity but no wounds. She was put on a course of antibiotics and we crossed our fingers.

She refused food for 2 days but remained calm and too steady. She began to eat and to improve. Her demeanour and wildness came back and after 10 days was sat up on a perch and looking good.

I took her for BTO ringing and called in to the finders to get an exact location to release her.

The young nepehew of the finder came with me for the release.

We let her go next to an L shaped mixed woodland she sat on my shoulder and then my head before flying off ! She flew straight and true into a large tree.

As we got back into the car another Buzzard flew over from the far wood straight to the tree where the young bird was perched . This bird must have been watching the release and came to gather up her youngster.

I'm a lucky woman !

Snared Badger

This adult sow badger was found caught in a snare around the hips, in a hedgerow at Overton which is north of York, just off the A19. The RSPCA attended and a local vet. The snare with badger attached was taken to Minster Vets where they were parted under anasthetic. She then came here the following day, very stressed and upset. I left her to settle and she remained very alert and suspicious for the next  2 days and ate nothing .She was given antibiotic injections every 2 days and on the 4th, 5th and 6th days the snare wound opened up like a deep pusy zip.Snares cause pressure necrossis , the snare tightens and cuts off the blood supply and the skin dies off which but does not show to begin with.It is so important not to release a badger straight from a snare but to keep them safe and give strong doses of antibiotic. She began to eat and I had to be very careful and  repsectful when injecting her. It took 3 weeks for the wound to come up flat and for her flesh to heal over. She began to test the pen, always a good sign that they are well and ready to be off.

I rang in the incident to the North Yorkshire Police, which at first was ignored, there is not a Wildlife Crime Officer dedicated to York at the moment.Eventually a knowledgable WCO came down from Bedale and visited the area where she was snared. I had been for a look also and sadly there were 2 areas of disturbance where 2 badgers had been caught.

After 3 weeks she was ready to return and we travelled back to the farm track where she was illegally caught .As soon as I lifted her from the car her nose was up sniffing the familiar scent of home.

I put the travelling box down and she scrabbled about ready for the off. To say she went well was an under statement !Fast, straight and galloping, down the farm track then a sharp left and into the thick cover of oil seed rape. Lovely. I hate snares and think its about time this barbaric practise was finally banned forever.