Expert Witness : Animal & Farming – page 6

Badgers reprieved, but the people battle on

Badger picture for your Expert Witness story A BBC Panorama programme on the postponement of the planned badger cull in Gloucestershire and other areas has sparked a number of rows between the opposing camps. In the programme, National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall suggested individuals within Natural England may have wanted the badger cull policy to fail.

The culls were postponed until next year after a survey showed there were considerably more badgers in the two pilot areas than initially estimated, making it impossible to achieve the desired proportion of kills.

Interviewed on the programme, titled Badgers: dodging the bullet?, Mr Kendall said the estimates put the NFU and the companies set up to administer the cull in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset 'on the back foot'.

Badger cull stirs up feelings and prompts police leave ban

Picture of badger by Badgerhero for Your Expert Witness story Police officers could become exhausted because they cannot book any more leave this year as a result of the imminent badger cull, it has been claimed.
Gloucestershire Police said it would not be authorising any further time off before January in anticipation of expected clashes between farmers, marksmen and animal rights activists, according to a report in The Gloucester Echo.

Gloucestershire Police Federation has questioned the decision, saying officers will become more stressed and exhausted which could lead to mistakes. It has said it is considering speaking to the Health and Safety Executive.

Tracking the aliens just got easier

Picture of grey squirrel for Expert Witness story The key catalogue of information on 'alien', or non-native, species in Europe has undergone a major update. The Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe (DAISIE) database provides policy-makers and other experts a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe and their consequences for the environment and society.

The DAISIE online database, at www.europe-aliens.org, was relaunched on 13 September at the NEOBIOTA conference in Pontevedra in Spain. It contains details of over 12,000 alien species and plays an important role in tackling the threat of alien species within Europe.

Simplified wildlife law proposed

Picture of ducks for Expert Witness wildlife story The Law Commission is seeking views on how wildlife law should be modernised and simplified and has launched a consultation, running until November.

According to the commission the current law regulating wildlife is spread over a collection of Acts dating back to 1831, the original purpose of which of the law was to govern activities hunting, fishing and, of course, poaching. More recently that has expanded to the conservation specific species, ensuring the welfare of wildlife and now protecting local biodiversity from invasive species.

The result, says the commission, is a legal landscape that is "out of date, confused and often contradictory". For example, the hunting, management and welfare of pheasants is governed by four separate statutes.

Double celebration for two Zara’s

Picture of Zara-Phillips for Expert Witness animal story With the country celebrating the success of the GB equestrian team in the Olympic Games in winning the Silver Medal, the RSPCA has reported a "fantastic response" to its appeal for people to come forward and foster young horses and ponies.

Launched on 14 May, the aim of the Stable Future appeal was to find foster carers for young horses and ponies that had suffered neglect and cruelty until such time as they were ready to go to permanent new homes. Many of the 270 young ponies in the care of the RSPCA have found foster carers and at least 13 horses have already gone to their new homes.