Britain's most endangered species identified for first time as Natural England launches 'Back from the Brink' campaign

Helena Horton 

1 FEBRUARY 2019 • 10:59PM

Britain's 20 most endangered species have been identified for the first time by a host of wildlife and woodland charities, as Natural England has launched a campaign to bring them back from the brink of extinction.

The charities, including the RSPB and the Woodland Trust, have been given over £7.7 million in funding from the National Lottery and other donors to work together to save the endangered animals and plants.

Since the ambitious project began a year ago, the charities have already managed to reintroduce of the Chequered Skipper butterfly to the Rockingham Forest area of Northamptonshire. It  had been extinct in England since 1976.

Now, the various charities are working together for the first time to safeguard the rest of the animals on the list.

The species include the pine marten, which used to be Britain's third most common predator until it was hunted almost to extinction for its beautiful pelt.

While the population is recovering in Scotland, they are scarce in England. By the conclusion of this project, it is hoped they begin to colonise in Northumberland and Cumbria.

Funding for the project will mean that nest boxes can be built for them in the woodland areas they thrive in, and that the current pairs can be tracked.

Continued

Extending BADGER culls - the ignorance of this government - A Letter to Natural England

Extending BADGER culls - the ignorance of this government - A Letter to Natural England

Posted: 11 Oct 2013 07:25 AM PDT 

LETTER TO NATURAL ENGLAND 

Bindmans LLP, the solicitors acting on behalf of Badger Trust, issued the following letter to Natural England on 9th October 2013: 

Dear Sirs 

Proposed Claimant: Badger Trust 

Proposed Defendants: Natural England and Secretary of State for DEFRA 

We write further to our correspondence prior to the cull, which was to have been conducted under strict adherence to the licence conditions authorised by Natural England and DEFRA’s guidance to Natural England under section 15 Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

Despite the undisputed fact that the shooters have failed to reach the mandatory 70% targets within the permitted pilot timeframe, and the widespread reports of animal cruelty and serious public safety concerns, and the fact that it was necessary to resort to expensive cage-trapping during the cull term, we now learn that the shooting companies are proposing to apply to Natural England for an extension of the licence period beyond the maximum 6 weeks permitted.

 

DEFRA’s guidance to Natural England is quite clear in its terms: 

“10. Applicants must satisfy Natural England that they are able to deliver an effective cull in line with this policy and have arrangements in place to achieve this. To deliver an effective cull, the following requirements must be met. 

a. Culling must be co-ordinated on accessible land across the entire control area.

b. Culling must be sustained, which means it must be carried out annually (but not in closed seasons) for the duration of the licence (minimum of 4 years). The killing/taking of badgers must be limited to a six-week cull period specified in each licence. Culling will not be permitted during the following closed seasons: 

i. 1 December to 31 May for cage-trapping and shooting badgers;

ii. 1 February to 31 May for controlled shooting; and

iii. 1 December to 30 April for cage-trapping and vaccination. 

c. Culling must remove a minimum number of badgers in each year as specified below:

i. in the first year of culling, a minimum number of badgers must be removed during an intensive cull which must be carried out throughout the land to which there is access, over a period of not more than six consecutive weeks. This minimum number should be set at a level that in Natural England’s judgement should reduce the estimated badger population of the application area by at least 70%” [emphasis added]

Given the clear criteria in the guidance and the DEFRA December 2011 policy document, there is no legal power to extend the culling period in these circumstances.

Furthermore, even if this were not so, or if Natural England were asked to grant a new licence, it would be necessary to consult lawfully given the clear deviation from the fundamental terms of the published policy, which resulted from a consultation process. If there is serious consideration being given to an extension, please confirm in your reply that there will be proper consultation before doing so. 

We set out below reasons why granting an extension, which deviates even further from the RBCT methodology, would be likely to result in the spread of disease, and not meet the licence conditions. We hope that reports of an extension have been exaggerated and that it will not be necessary to seek injunctive relief to prevent such a harmful course of action. We seek confirmation of your position on the matter. 

In the RBCT, proactive culls were completed across entire areas in 8-11 nights. On the four occasions when culls were conducted non-simultaneously and hence were prolonged (lasting 33, 107, 150 and 207 days from start to finish), there was an increase in the proportion of badgers infected, over and above the “background” increase in badger TB prompted by culling. The associated odds ratio was 1.7 (95% CI 1.18-2.56) (Woodroffe et al. 2006)[1]. Subsequently, DEFRA sought other explanations for this effect, but it remained evident despite the small sample size.

On the basis of the published analyses Sir David King agreed with the ISG[2] thus:

“Sir David confirmed that conducting badger culls simultaneously over such an area would have to be an essential element of any culling programme that was deemed to have been undertaken competently” (ISG 2008) 

And Defra’ science advisory committee[3] said this:

“There is little useful data on the issue of what time period should be considered as “simultaneous”. The Group advised that if culling was carried out in a period of up to 6 weeks (although preferably less), that is likely to reduce the adverse effects of non-simultaneous culling; this advice is based on opinion and not on evidence. The longer the period that culling is carried out in, the less confident one can be that the deleterious effects seen with non-simultaneous culling as carried out in the RBCT will be minimized.” (Science Advisory Council/Bovine Tuberculosis Science Advisory Body Joint Group on Defra’s Bovine TB consultation 2010) 

To grant any extension or licence fresh culling in these circumstances would further undermine the purported purpose for which a licence under Protection of Badgers Act 1992 was granted – prevention of the spread of disease.

We look forward to hearing from you by close of business on Monday. 

Yours faithfully

Bindmans LLP 

[1] Woodroffe, R., Donnelly, C.A., Jenkins, H.E., Johnston, W.T., Cox, D.R., Bourne, F.J., Cheeseman, C.L., Delahay, R.J., Clifton-Hadley, R.S., Gettinby, G., Gilks, P., Hewinson, R.G., McInerney, J.P. & Morrison, W.I. (2006) Culling and cattle controls influence tuberculosis risk for badgers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103, 14713-14717.

[2] ISG (2008) Meeting between the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser 13th December 2007. Defra.

[3] Science Advisory Council/Bovine Tuberculosis Science Advisory Body Joint Group on Defra’s Bovine TB consultation (2010) Advice based on the consultation questions. 

Badger Trust Contact: 

Jack Reedy 07751 731107

01564 783129

RSPB launches complaint against Natural England

RSPB seeks European investigation after failure to protect UK wildlife site

October 2012. The RSPB has submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission over the handling of an estate in the South Pennines where a protected area of blanket bog habitat is under threat.

Following six months of investigation, the charity believes Natural England has contravened European environmental protection legislation in its dealings with the Walshaw Moor Estate, near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. The site is home to an important area of blanket bog - a globally rare and threatened habitat of delicate mosses which supports scarce breeding wading birds such as dunlin and golden plover. Walshaw Moor is so vital for these species and habitats that it is protected by the highest European environmental designations.

Burning and draining of the bog
The management of the estate - including burning and draining of the bog - has caused Natural England to raise serious concerns in recent years. However, in March this year, without a clear explanation, Natural England suddenly dropped legal proceedings against the estate, including a prosecution on 43 grounds of alleged damage.

Mike Clarke, RSPB chief executive, said: "The decision to lodge this complaint has not been taken lightly, but this is a vitally important issue which centres on the Government's statutory duty to protect our natural environment.

No adequate explanation
"Natural England - the Government's wildlife watchdog - has dropped its prosecution without giving an adequate explanation and without securing restoration of this habitat. It has also entered into a management arrangement which we consider has fundamental flaws. This combination of actions is probably unlawful and will do little, if anything, to realise the Coalition Government's stated ambition to restore biodiversity.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/rspb-complaint.html

Badgers dig up human bones in graveyard

Badgers are causing havoc in an ancient churchyard by digging up the remains of people buried there for several hundred years.

At least four graves have been disturbed so far in Long Clawson


And locals have been warned they can do nothing about it because the animals are a protected species.

At least four graves have been disturbed so far; in one instance a child found a leg bone and took it home to his parents. It is illegal to kill badgers or destroy a sett, and attempts by the local parish council to have the badgers moved have been blocked by Natural England.

Instead, Rev Simon Shouler has been forced to carry out regular patrols to pick up stray bones, store them and re-inter them all in a new grave.

Rev Shouler first noticed the problem at St Remigius Church in the village of Long Clawson, Leics, which dates back to the 12th Century, earlier this year when someone reported seeing a skull and a bone on top of the ground.

The churchyard took burials for 800 years before closing in the early 1900s because it was full.

Since the first discovery a child has discovered a leg bone and two other leg bones have now been dug up.

Rev Shouler said: “The parish council began seeking advice and someone from the local county badger group came around and told us about special gates that allow the badgers out but does not allow them back in.

“The idea was that they would be relocated to a nearby field.

“However, Natural England and English Heritage got involved and ruled that there might have been a medieval house on the adjacent field once, and so the land is protected.

“We cannot go near the sett, and English Nature will not grant us a license to relocate them so there is nothing we can do other than to let them remain in the churchyard, digging up the remains of people who have been buried for several hundred years.

“Because the setts are under or in the grave, we cannot even bury the bones in their rightful place. I have been told to carry out a monthly bone patrol, collect them all up and re-inter them in a new grave.”

He added: “It is ridiculous. If I decided to dig up a grave to build an extension for the church or something, there would be hell to pay, yet here we have people who are having their bones scattered at the whim of someone sitting in an office miles away.

“It lacks any common sense but sadly reflects the bureaucracy of modern life.

“And it can’t be healthy to touch these bones. Goodness knows what some of these people died of – there were things like Anthrax around and I know that can stay in the ground for a very long time.”

The field next to St Remigius Church is said to contain remains of the main residence of the Bozon family, Lords of the manor from 1304 to 1539.

The field and graveyard are part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument and whilst Natural England were initially happy to grant a licence, English Heritage advised that if moved the badgers could cause more damage to the protected site.

A spokesman said: “This is a complex issue where finding a solution to satisfy everyone is hard.

“We evaluate situations such as this on a case by case basis but we always aim to strike a balance between the welfare of wildlife and the preservation of human remains and scheduled ancient monuments.”

Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, it is illegal to kill, injure or take a badger, or interfere with a sett. The maximum sentence is six months’ jail.

By Nick Britten