National Trust criticised after hiring marksman to cull wild boar

Animals to be removed from Stourhead estate after complaints from ‘intimidated’ visitors

Steven Morris

Mon 19 Nov 2018 12.00 GMTLast modified on Mon 19 Nov 2018 19.25 GMT

The National Trust has been criticised for planning to cull wild boar at its Stourhead estate in Wiltshire.

It said it had taken the “difficult decision” to remove the animals from its land following reports that members of the public were feeling intimidated by the prospect of coming face-to-face with a wild boar. The charity added it felt it needed to sanction a cull to protect its staff.

The trust said: “Following recent reports of an unlicensed reintroduction of wild boar on land adjacent to the Stourhead estate and several reports of members of the public being confronted and intimidated, we have taken the difficult decision to remove the animals from the estate.

“We only made this decision after considering the alternatives and after consulting with Natural England. Unfortunately, there are some instances where humane control is necessary – for instance where there are safety concerns for our visitors, staff or volunteers; or to protect other species or habitats. We never take this decision lightly.

“Any cull of wild boar will be carried out by an experienced and licensed marksman who conforms to National Trust standards of safety and animal welfare.”

The 2,650-acre estate is known for its lake, which reflects classical temples, grottoes and rare and exotic trees. It has attracted visitors in the autumn when the colour of the trees can be particularly striking.

Continued  

Changes to EU nature laws could be 'catastrophic' for Salisbury Plain

First published Friday 15 May 2015 in Newsby Alex Rennie, Reporter

THE RSPB have described the potential weakening of EU nature laws as the “biggest disaster for wildlife in our lifetime” which could have serious implications on the Salisbury Plain.

The directives that have protected the region's wildlife since the 1970s are under threat according to the society and they have backed a European wide campaign to save them.

They have listed Salisbury Plain as one of the places at risk and say unpicking these laws would be "catastrophic" for wildlife.

Tony Whitehead from the RSPB in the West Country said: "The nature directives are the bedrock of nature conservation in the West Country; providing the highest level of protection that any habitats or species currently have – and they work.

Continued ...

The 'Beast of Trowbridge'? Pensioners spy creature eating its kill in empty field

Two pensioners believe they stumbled across the fabled 'Beast of Trowbridge' eating its kill while out for a walk in Wiltshire.

Herbert and Doreen Smith while going through Murhill Woods in Trowbridge where they say they saw the creature which is said to be the size of a Husky or Labrador. They quickly took a picture of the image with the camera they had with them.

Herbert, 71, said: "Our first impression was sheer astonishment, we really could not believe our eyes at what we were seeing.

"The animal was eating what we believe it had just caught. There was a lot of rabbits about so I expect it was having breakfast."

Sightings of the 'puma-like' animal go as far back as 2009.

The local 'Wiltshire Times' newspaper has carried reports from shopkeepers and drivers of the animal jumping on to cars as well as chasing pet cats.

Continued

Kennet and Avon grass snakes take to the canal to cool down

A lock keeper at a canal in Wiltshire has said he has never seen so many grass snakes swimming in the water during the recent hot weather.

Alan Giddings has worked at Caen Hill on Kennet and Avon canal for almost 36 years and said it was "truly amazing".

He said: "I've never seen them just come across the towpath and plop into the lock."

Oda Dijksterhuis, of the Canal & River Trust, said warm weather had made them "take to the water more than usual".

'Out of undergrowth'

Mr Giddings said it happened over two days during the hot spell at the end of July.

He said: "Normally you don't see them or maybe you'll get a glimpse. But during those two hottest days, they came straight out of the undergrowth.

"I saw five separate snakes - and the size of them. I then filled up the lock with water and opened the lock otherwise it would have been difficult for them to get out."

Video and continued

Rhino bites off more than he can chew – and ends up being bitten on the rump by camel

This three-tonne rhino thought he could get away with throwing his considerable weight around – but a protective camel father was having none of it.

White rhino Marashe was chased away with his tail between his legs after straying too close to Bactrian camel Dougie’s one-month-old calf Nikki. 

Marashe suffered further indignity when he was bitten on the rump by furious Dougie during the chase in the shared enclosure at Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire. 

‘Nikki’s mum, Camilla, has been particularly aggressive towards the other animals but on this occasion it was Dougie that really got the hump,’ said Longleat keeper Ian Turner, who caught the scene on camera. 

‘Marashe was being a bit too inquisitive around the new arrival and Dougie wasn’t put off by her size or 15in horn and decided to chase after her.’ 

The camels are critically endangered and Nikki is one of three babies born at Longleat over the past year.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/27/rhino-bites-off-more-than-he-can-chew-and-ends-up-being-bitten-on-the-rump-by-camel-3563516/

RSPG go batty at Westonbirt Arboretum

Nocturnal explorers are being invited to grab their torches and wrap up warm on an RSPB guided bat evening at Westonbirt Arboretum.

As dusk falls, bat enthusiasts from RSPB will be on-hand to give participants an extraordinary glimpse of the lives of these elusive and fascinating creatures.

“Fourteen species of bat have previously been recorded at Westonbirt - only 18 species exist in the UK in total - so we should be spoilt for choice when it comes to seeing and hearing them on this event” said on-site RSPB Information Assistant Amy Martin.

“I’ve seen suspect Brown Long-eared bats hawking insects at Westonbirt,” elaborated Matt Brierley, RSPB’s People Engagement Officer for Gloucestershire, “but we’ve never picked them up on a detector. We’re in for an exciting evening.”

Bat detectors will be provided to work out what species are encountered as they fly about hunting for food, which could include rare species like barbastelle bats.

Booking for this event, which will be held on Saturday 6th October, is essential. £5 per person. Spaces are extremely limited so please book early. For more information please call Amy Martin on 07747618141 or email amy.martin@rspb.org.uk.

For more information about Westonbirt Arboretum, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt

http://www.wiltshirebusinessonline.co.uk/news/9950681.RSPG_go_batty_at_Westonbirt_Arboretum/

UK’s most wildlife friendly farmer is in Wiltshire

Wildlife and food production together

September 2012. Henry Edmunds, of Cholderton Estate in Wiltshire, has been crowned the UK's most wildlife-friendly farmer 2012. Henry is the first English winner of the RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award having received the highest number of votes out of the 17,000 cast by members of the public. Cholderton is a mixed organic farm, and their motto is 'sustainable agriculture in practice'. Henry has spent more than 30 years balancing modern agriculture and the preservation of the countryside.

Corn bunting, lapwing and grey partridge
On the farm Hampshire Downs sheep graze chalk grassland that is alive with flowers and buzzing with insects, including rare bumblebees, moths and butterflies. Corn bunting, lapwing and grey partridge thrive amongst the crops, alongside the diminutive harvest mice and rare arable plants such as cornflower and pheasant's-eye. This abundance of wildlife sits neatly alongside food production where the harvest delivers a healthy landscape, economy and environment.

Tracé Williams, speaking for the RSPB in Wiltshire, said: "Cholderton Estate is an impressive example of what it's possible to achieve for wildlife within a commercial farming system, and shows that conservation needn't clash with profitability."

Henry Edmunds said; "I am delighted to win the Nature of Farming award for 2012. This represents the culmination of many years of habitat improvement on the Cholderton Estate. The whole process has been underpinned by the organic farming regime which has allowed many rare and endangered plants, birds and butterflies to flourish. The farming system is based on permanent and temporary grassland with mixed cropping, with an emphasis on sustainability. Large areas of chalk downland are being restored and populations of ground nesting birds like Lapwings are encouraged and protected."

Continued: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wildlife-farming2012.html

'Very unusual' pink grasshopper spotted in Wiltshire

A rare sighting of a pink grasshopper has been made on a farm in Wiltshire.

The "very unusual" vivid pink insect was spotted by eight-year-old Bailey Smith at Ratfyn Farm in Amesbury.

The insect has been identified as a young female meadow grasshopper by the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre (WSBRC).

Vicky James, from the WSRBC, said although it was not a rare species, "only rarely are vivid pink female nymphs seen".

Bailey Smith, who keeps his pony at Ratfyn Farm, said: "I was just pushing my foot through the grass when it jumped out.

"I knew it was a grasshopper but I was quite surprised."

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-19410483

Russian great bustard eggs hatched in Wiltshire

Six great bustard eggs flown over from Russia have been hatched in Wiltshire.

The world's heaviest flying bird, extinct in the UK since 1832, was introduced to Salisbury Plain in 2004.

Since than more than 100 birds hand-reared in Russia have been released by the Great Bustard Group (GBG).

David Waters from the GBG said: "To know all six eggs survived the journey is brilliant and bodes well for next year."

In the past eight years a small population has been established from chicks brought from Russia.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-18809954

First Wiltshire crop circle of year arrives despite the weather at Stonehenge

The weather may be more like November than May but the first crop circles have appeared in Wiltshire fields.

The crop circle near Stonehenge

The first one was reported on April 15 at Hill Barn, near East Kennett in oil seed rape but a more striking one is currently visible, also in oil seed rape, also known as canola, at Yarnbury Castle near Winterbourne Stoke.

This one was reported on April 28. It will be interesting to see how drier weather and more prolific crops affect the number of formations that appear over the next three months.

We are indebted to Matthew Williams for this image.

http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/archive/2012/05/04/Wiltshire+News+%28gazette_wiltshire_news%29/9688862.First_Wiltshire_crop_circle_of_year_arrives_despite_the_weather_at_Stonehenge/

Painting of lioness attack in Wiltshire is auctioned

A painting which recorded an attack by a lioness on a mail coach in Wiltshire 200 years ago is to be sold at auction.

The oil painting, a 19th century copy of a James Pollard work, shows the beast attacking the Exeter Mail Coach on 20 October, 1816, near Salisbury.

The lioness had escaped from a travelling menagerie and as the coach drew up at a coaching inn in Winterslow it attacked the lead horse.

The artwork is estimated to sell for up to £800 at an auction in Salisbury.

Victor Fauvelle, from auctioneers Woolley and Wallis, said the "extraordinary event" was "so hugely unlikely that it really captivated everybody".

"The lioness had escaped from Ballard's travelling menagerie, which had stopped for the night nearby," he said.

"Two of the passengers of the coach fled to the inn and locked themselves inside, blocking the door against the remaining passenger and driver, while the mail guard, attempted to shoot the animal with his blunderbuss."

The lioness was eventually trapped under a granary and its capture was reported in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal.

The newspaper article stated: "Her owner and his assistants… made her lie down upon [a sack]; they then tied her four legs and passed a cord round her mouth, which they secured.

"In this state they drew her out from under the granary, upon the sack, and then she was lifted and carried … the lioness lay as quietly as a lamb during her removal to the caravan."

After the incident, the injured coach horse was bought by the owner of the lionness and displayed "with its wounds" alongside the recaptured lioness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-17227857

Extinction fears as salmon disappear

t.cork@bepp.co.uk


Atlantic salmon that travel thousands of miles to swim up a West river could become extinct there within three years, environmentalists have warned.

The Wiltshire Avon, which drains most of south Wiltshire through Salisbury and on through Dorset, is one of the most important rivers for salmon in England, but a combination of milder climate and a loss of suitable breeding grounds has badly affected the numbers.

The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust said the number swimming back up the Avon has halved in the past five years, and there could be no salmon left in the river within three years.

The trust is now embarking on a new survey to discover what the problem is, and what can be done to help the epic swimmers.

The salmon hatch from eggs in the upper reaches of the Avon, often as much as 40 miles from the sea, in shallow gravelly stretches of the river and its tributaries like the Nadder, Wylye, Bourne and Ebble, which all meet at Salisbury.

Once a year old, the salmon then swim out to sea and spend their lives thousands of miles away in the north Atlantic, off the coast of West Greenland. There they live for years, before returning for a final journey back across the Atlantic, up the English Channel and into the mouth of the Avon in Dorset. They then have to find the exact tributary where they were born to spawn.

But Wiltshire Wildlife Trust director Gary Mantle said that surveys of the numbers accessing the mouth of the Avon at Christchurch, near Bournemouth, show that numbers have halved in just five years. Tests on stretches of the Wylye tributary which the wildlife trust owns and manages have also shown that the temperature of the water and other habitat information has changed and appears to be badly affecting the Atlantic salmon.

Oxygen levels, and the pH level of the water has changed, and the river appears to be a less salmon-friendly environment.

The trust is actively restoring sections of the river to create more gravelly shallows that the salmon prefer.

"We want to get into the river and clean the gravel so we provide a much better spawning area for the fish," said Dr Mantle.

"It's a range of activities that we can do and we need to make sure we conserve the fish so that the few that remain are protected as well," he added.

"In the next three years, salmon could be extinct from the river," he warned.

Salmon numbers took a nose dive in recent decades as the river quality was damaged by pollution caused by agriculture. Dredging the river to aid flood defences also damaged habitats, and extraction by water companies created a less healthy environment.

http://www.christchurchpeople.co.uk/Extinction-fears-salmon-disappear/story-14279200-detail/story.html

Box containing 47 baby bats found dumped in Wiltshire

Forty seven baby and two adult pipistrelle bats have been found dumped in a box in Wiltshire, the RSPCA said.

The 47 baby pipistrelle bats are being hand-reared round the clock by a team of "bat workers"
The protected bats were discovered in a box at the side of a polo pitch at Perham Down near Tidworth on Wednesday.

Two females bats, one with a fractured wing, and 47 babies were taken to the Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital.

An RSPCA spokesman said he had never heard of bats being "removed and dumped in this way".

Marilyn Korkis from the Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital said it was one of the "most distressing sights" she had ever seen.

"They were all crawling over each other in the box, with baby bats clinging to other babies," she said.

"It's just wicked. Usually a mother will have just one baby, so 47 mothers will have flown out of the roost and come back to find all their babies gone."

'Declining species'
The baby bats, some "no bigger than a thumbnail", were all infested with mites and suffering from dehydration.

The orphan pipistrelles are currently being hand-reared, round the clock, by a team of six "bat workers".

Mrs Korkis said she was hopeful that they now have "a chance to go on and be released back out".

Pipistrelles often roost inside buildings but it is a criminal offence to intentionally kill, injure or handle a bat or damage, obstruct or destroy any place used by bats for shelter.

Anyone found guilty can be fined up to £5,000 per bat.

RSPCA Inspector Will Hendry said: "If there were 49 in the box goodness knows how many bats would be in the roost.

"Bats are a declining species and it is totally illegal to disturb them and we would urge anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to call the RSPCA."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-14088144