Badgers on the allotments - letter from the Scribe
Obviously. the trustees regret the damage to crops and other problems experienced by gardeners. We are well aware of the problems associated with the badgers. Not only crop damage, but many dangerous holes, unpleasant faeces and more recently, injury to local pets. We also assume that they are the reason nobody sees hedgehogs on the site any more. They are definitely making more plots un-lettable.
Unfortunately, solving the problem is far from simple because they are a protected species. We have sought advice from a couple of badger groups and, while they are sympathetic to our situation, they do not have viable solutions due to the size and location of the site. Apparently, we cannot damage the original sett, but can restrict new out-runners. However, they have pointed out that to restrict an area, or to fence off crops, you must go 5 feet up and three feet underground, which is obviously impossible for us.
The only legal way the Trust can take action is to get a licence from Natural England, a government body, to disturb the badgers.
I started this process two years ago, but found the 28 page form virtually impossible, as we did not have all the necessary information, (How many badgers are there, what is the recommendation of your ecologist, what disturbance programme have you implemented etc., etc.) It was written as though I personally wanted to club to death every badger in the county!
They recently revised the application process, so I started again, this time with a fourteen-page application. With assistance, I have now completed this form and it is waiting to be submitted.
They say it can be submitted on line, so I tried! Firstly, the Trust needs to be registered with the Government Gateway, but they do not accept bodies like charities, so I have had to use a personal registration. This lets you access the Natural England section, but you then need to register with a working group.
I have dealt with all this, but they now have to send me a further questionnaire through the post.
When that has been returned and approved, I should be able to make an on-line application to "Disturb" the badgers. That letter should have arrived by now, but I am still waiting for it. The bureaucracy is so frustrating.
Even if we get approval, we may have to appoint an approved ecologist and if they agree, we then need to find somebody to actually move or cull the badgers. Sadly, there are people encouraging the badgers, so the By-laws have been revised to state that this is unacceptable. ( I wish they realised they are hastening the demise of the badgers). We have been reported to the police on several occasions for illegally interfering with them. Thanks to help from the Cannock Chase Badger Conservation Group, we have been able to refute these claims, but it is an added difficulty. We are in a no-win situation as the views of the trustees and the gardeners are diametrically opposite to those who see them as cuddly friends. Hence, we need to make it as widely known as possible that they are in the wrong place. The owners of dead cats may now be supporting this move.
I have explained to the badger groups that we are doing all this in the interests of the badgers, as well as the gardeners, because it is only a matter of time before somebody decides to poison them. Yes, we know it's illegal, but so is arson, theft, vandalism, etc, all of which we have had on the site and it has proved impossible to identify those culprits. The fact that the site is so large and unprotected, means we would never identify who was responsible, which is why the trust is trying to deal with this legally.
I know this is no comfort to those who have been suffering these inconveniences and regrettably, they have been bombarded with lots of false rumours about what is going on. I hope this explains the current state of affairs, but rest assured that the trustees are as frustrated as the gardeners.
John Edwards (Scribe to the Trust)
22nd August 2018
Unfortunately, solving the problem is far from simple because they are a protected species. We have sought advice from a couple of badger groups and, while they are sympathetic to our situation, they do not have viable solutions due to the size and location of the site. Apparently, we cannot damage the original sett, but can restrict new out-runners. However, they have pointed out that to restrict an area, or to fence off crops, you must go 5 feet up and three feet underground, which is obviously impossible for us.
The only legal way the Trust can take action is to get a licence from Natural England, a government body, to disturb the badgers.
I started this process two years ago, but found the 28 page form virtually impossible, as we did not have all the necessary information, (How many badgers are there, what is the recommendation of your ecologist, what disturbance programme have you implemented etc., etc.) It was written as though I personally wanted to club to death every badger in the county!
They recently revised the application process, so I started again, this time with a fourteen-page application. With assistance, I have now completed this form and it is waiting to be submitted.
They say it can be submitted on line, so I tried! Firstly, the Trust needs to be registered with the Government Gateway, but they do not accept bodies like charities, so I have had to use a personal registration. This lets you access the Natural England section, but you then need to register with a working group.
I have dealt with all this, but they now have to send me a further questionnaire through the post.
When that has been returned and approved, I should be able to make an on-line application to "Disturb" the badgers. That letter should have arrived by now, but I am still waiting for it. The bureaucracy is so frustrating.
Even if we get approval, we may have to appoint an approved ecologist and if they agree, we then need to find somebody to actually move or cull the badgers. Sadly, there are people encouraging the badgers, so the By-laws have been revised to state that this is unacceptable. ( I wish they realised they are hastening the demise of the badgers). We have been reported to the police on several occasions for illegally interfering with them. Thanks to help from the Cannock Chase Badger Conservation Group, we have been able to refute these claims, but it is an added difficulty. We are in a no-win situation as the views of the trustees and the gardeners are diametrically opposite to those who see them as cuddly friends. Hence, we need to make it as widely known as possible that they are in the wrong place. The owners of dead cats may now be supporting this move.
I have explained to the badger groups that we are doing all this in the interests of the badgers, as well as the gardeners, because it is only a matter of time before somebody decides to poison them. Yes, we know it's illegal, but so is arson, theft, vandalism, etc, all of which we have had on the site and it has proved impossible to identify those culprits. The fact that the site is so large and unprotected, means we would never identify who was responsible, which is why the trust is trying to deal with this legally.
I know this is no comfort to those who have been suffering these inconveniences and regrettably, they have been bombarded with lots of false rumours about what is going on. I hope this explains the current state of affairs, but rest assured that the trustees are as frustrated as the gardeners.
John Edwards (Scribe to the Trust)
22nd August 2018