Just thought I'd share this with you....

I'm amazed that no comments have been made on any of the three previous blog posts I've made.

I'm guessing that the badger apologist sect can't disagree, so haven't bothered to comment.

In the meantime; I thought I'd share this poster with you all.  Please pass it on.

My TB Control Strategy - Part 2

OK, so we've got a locked down farm; what next?

Well while the epidemiologists do their work to find out how this farm got bTB, a complete survey of the farm should be carried out by someone who knows what they are doing.  By someone who knows what they are doing, I mean someone with practical knowledge and skills, not a university graduate looking for a short term job in the open air (I'll explain that one another time).

The survey should look at all wildlife likely to be a vector of the disease; deer, feral cats, rats, and of course, badgers.

As soon as that has been done, efforts must be carried out to prevent further infection.  That may include controlling rats, fencing off badger latrines and controlling feral cats.

What is most important is that some badgers are trapped and euthanized to test them for bTB.  If those test results come back positive, then every badger that sets foot on the farm must be removed.  Removal methods should be comprehensive and include cage trapping and night shooting.  Finally, gassing and set closure should be carried out.  Gassing can be carried out using Sodium Cyanide applied using a motorised pump (a derogation from the Biocides Directive would be required, as shown by the Czech Republic) and resurveys should be carried out at monthly intervals.

What if the badgers don't test positive for bTB?

Wait for it..............

Vaccinate them.

More to follow.

My bTB control Strategy - Part One

This is part one of the control strategy that I've been banging on about on Twitter; just in a bit more detail.

I would never consider myself an expert; but I've worked in disease control and wildlife management, and the following is a suggestion of how I think it should be handled.

OK, so a farm goes down with bTB.  Very sad for the farmer concerned, but actually, not very visible to the general public, unlike FMD.

The first thing that should happen is a complete shutdown of the farm.  Nothing should be brought onto the farm, or taken off it without a licence.  This in itself, could be viewed by some as a bureaucratic nightmare; and it certainly has the potential to be, BUT... it's essential that some control system is put in place and managed by a third party.  I'd suggest a vet, as that is the way it was done during FMD.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, should be moved on or off without the consent of the vet, who in turn, should make sure that the correct protocols are put in place to disinfect on and off the farm.

Every single point of entry to the farm; that means field gates, footpaths and the main entry point should have a big red sign placed on it informing people that these premises have TB and that entry is forbidden except by licence.  That of course means closing any footpath or other right of way to prevent the physical transfer of the TB bacteria.

At this point we have a completely 'locked down' farm, where nothing is moving on or off without a licence, which is only given when full biosecurity can be implemented.

Then we move on to Step Two.

Why are badgers protected?

Following on from some of the stuff on Twitter recently, I thought I'd ask the simple question; Why are badgers protected? You see, to a simple countryman like me, I can understand why some species need to be protected; they may be rare, as in the case of some birds of prey, or they may be harmless, like some songbirds. The trouble is, neither of these apply to badgers. The fact is; in the Southwest of England, there are just too many badgers for the good of them, and the environment they live in. Just take hedgehogs for an example. Old Brock like hedgehogs. They make a nice little badger snack. In West Cornwall, during the RBCT (Randomised Badger Culling Trials), the University of Warwick did a survey of the proactive cull area before culling started. What did they find? Lots of badgers and few, if any, hedgehogs. The badgers had pretty much wiped them out. Post cull, another survey was done, and found that where the badger population had been reduced, hedgehog numbers had started to recover. That is what is known as Wildlife Management. When one species becomes so numerous that it starts to impact on other, rarer species, we step in and try and redress the balance with an overall positive effect on the environment as a whole. It's not just hedgehogs that are suffering under the strain of an ever increasing population of badgers either; bumblebees, ground nesting birds, newts, amphibians etc. They are all, gradually losing the fight to survive against such a huge, and overprotected badger population. So I ask again, why are badgers protected? Think about it. Foxes aren't protected, nor are deer. Both large mammal species, both rarer than badgers, both thriving and healthy. If the protected status of badgers was removed in those counties where they are endemic, what would the result be? The result would be landowners choosing for themselves whether to cull badgers or not. The badgers left would be more healthy, with less competition for food, hedgehogs and those other species that are being hoovered up at present would start to recover, and we wouldn't need any state organised cull. Those landowners who chose not to cull could sit happily watching their badgers multiply (and other species decrease)and everyone would be happy. Except the protectionist lunatics who want to protect badgers at the expense of everything else. They'll never be happy without a 'cause'. Coming soon: My bTB control strategy

E-Bay

I'm a keen fan of on-line auctions; in fact, auctions in general.

Recently I've bought a few items off e-bay, and I thought I'd share one experience with you.

My new van is racked out. The back of the van sports lots of lovely shiney shelving. To help stop all my various bits and pieces getting thrown around, I thought I'd invest in some plastic boxes.

Off to the bay we go. I found just what I was looking for, and bidded away like you do. I wasn't lucky enough to win the items as I was 'sniped' (another pet hate of mine), but after the sale, I was given a 'second chance' (which makes me wonder if it was the seller bidding on his own goods to 'boost' the price). I dutifully paid there and then, and wondered if I was being sensible spending so much money.

Two weeks went by, and despite the fact that I paid the seller straight away, there was no sign of the boxes.

I contacted the seller, who kindly gave me the details of the courier, and told me that they had 'carded' the delivery twice (which was not true). Why he couldn't contact the courier and sort it out for himself is beyond me - in my opinion, it's the responsibility of the seller to ensure the goods get delivered.

Anyway, I contacted the courier on Wednesday, who told me the same lie that delivery had been attempted. When I told them that they were wrong, they suggested that they may have been trying the wrong address, so I gave them an alternative delivery address. "You'll get a delivery on Thursday" they said.

Thursday came and went, and by Friday afternoon I was getting a little cheesed off, so rang them again.

"our fault" they said. "It's still here because the driver forgot it".......

Anyway, to be fair to the courier, they sent the package via Parcel Force (I bet that hurt their pride) for saturday delivery, and at 9am on Saturday it was here.

This whole process took 20 days.

Now comes the rant.....

Whenever you buy anything off e-bay, you have to leave 'feedback'. Options are 'positive', 'neutral' or 'negative'.

Given the fact that I'd had to wait for the delivery for 20 days, and chase the sellers courier myself, I left 'neutral' feedback.

I've just had a message from the seller;

"Hi. Generally they are OK and this is the third different carrier we've used as they all seem to have problems. We're very disappointed you've left neutral feedback as our conduct has never been the problem so it seems somewhat unfair. At least you've eventually got the goods and that should finalise things. It would seem best for all concerned we have no further dealings"


Is it me?

What did they expect?

Little Chef

I've just watched the on-going story of the conversion of Little Chef back into a profitable, and reasonable restaurant by Heston Blumenthal.

I've fond memories of Little Chef back in the good days. You could always rely on them for a decent, reasonable priced meal or just a quick cup of tea. My more recent memories are of a place where quality was non-existent, both in terms of the food, and the service. Worst of all, they pumped the prices up to make the whole experience unpleasant and expensive.

Where did it all go wrong?

Like many people, I've seen dozens of what were popular sites close. The Little Chef estate is a shadow of it's former self.

What's this all got to do with rats? Well, as I just told the Little Chef website; my last visit to the Popham site (which seems to have been transformed since then) was about a year ago. I sat in the car park finishing a phone conversation, and watched, horrified, as a family of rats ran to and from an overflowing bin.

It's not the first time I've seen this; the last time was at Reading services on the M4 motorway. That day, I got some great photos of the rats.

The problem with these companies is that they put all their pest control out to contract, and the over-riding factor when making the decision to award a contract is price. The result is a scramble by national pest control companies to see who can offer the lowest price in the hope of being able to make some money by 'upselling' other services (bait stations, fly control units, bird proofing etc). I've seen contracts worth as little as £6 per routine visit! What sort of service would you get for that price? Very poor.

Pest control technicians also hate these contracts. They are not allowed to spend too long on site, and the site staff tend to treat them with contempt.

So why does it happen?

Because we let it.

Proper Pubs...........

As anyone who knows me can confirm, I like a drink once in a while.

I also like pubs - proper pubs that is. When we first came here to live, we had a lovely pub in the village. In fact, it was one of the reasons we bought the house; not because of the building, or the beer, but because of the atmosphere, and the fact that when we viewed the house we called in for a drink and found a bar full of friendly locals who openly welcomed us to the village and offered help.

These days, our pub has been turned into a wine bar type eatery. It's just not my scene - all champagnes by the glass and roasted broad beans in little bags.

One of my neighbours works away from home most of the time, and when he comes home for a weekend, likes to have a beer or ten. We've got into a bit of a habit of going off to a different pub each time and having a few jars....

On friday night, we decided to pop down to Witham Friary and have some cider. When I say cider, I mean proper cider, not the fizzy cold crap you get in most pubs.

The Seymour Arms is something quite special. Untouched for the best part of a century, it is a time warp. The landlord serves drinks via a hatchway, and has nothing on keg. The prices are from a different era too!

So, if anyone finds themselves in Somerset, and wants a decent pint, for a decent price, served in a proper pub, head for Witham Friary........