Slightly off topic but related, there have been huge numbers of birds of prey being killed or tagged ones going missing over grouse managed land in the Peak District and Yorkshire dales. In grouse shooting areas this is a massive problem and also illegal.Birds of prey are generally not shot on the uk, there’s not a lot of them compared to pigeon numbers.
Supply and demand isn’t that simple.
The higher price paid for lower yields are not passed onto the primary supplier, hence why we sold the dairy cattle, it cost us more to produce milk than to sell it.
I have recent experience of corvids killing lambs, sort of, having their back of necks mutilated or haveeyes popped, then I’ve had to shoot the lamb.
That’s a terrific loss as most of my ewes have turned out singletons this year.
Suppose it depends which social media circles you see (there can be that social media bubble), farming weekly? ran a poll To see if he should be sacked from the bbc, it was 70% no the last time I saw it. There seems to be larger support for him. Also having two dead crows hung from his front gate will probably galvanize more support. I don’t have a problem with someone employed by the bbc to talk about wildlife supporting wildlife. As I also wouldn’t have a problem from someone employed by the bbc to talk about farming supporting the farmers’ viewpoint.Well, the backlash seems to be massive, so maybe the Politicos will listen!
Even the RSPB cull pest species of birds on their reserves to protect eggs and chicks etc. Packham will be well aware that this legal challenge will have a negative impact on protected species this year so I wouldn't have thought he'd have approached this lightly.
I've met several people while out walking around here though who were out shooting crows illegally 'to protect the lambs'. Speaking to one of the local farmers recently he told me he feeds the ravens during lambing and never has a problem with them going after the lambs.
I've always been a little dubious on the crows killing lambs thing.Before I say anything to upset anyone I'll say 'I know that not all farmers are the same' but around here the ewes that die birthing are left in the field for days and the ravens don't need to go after any live food; there's ample carrion. I have lived in the country most of my life, my first job was a farm labourer, and I've walked and hunted in the countryside since I was a nipper - I have never seen a corvid kill a healthy lamb. I remember a study a few years back that found that predation as the root cause of lamb deaths (as opposed to the lamb being unhealthy or something to start with) accounted for only 3%. By far the highest cause (I believe well over 80%) was due to bad husbandry - that would certainly apply to some of the farms around here.
There isn't a ban on shooting pest species as far as I can see; there's just a ban on using the general license. Anyone can apply for a specific license but to do that they would have to demonstrate that they are a) competent and b) tried other non-lethal methods - and that is how it should be. Unfortunately, it took up to 30 days to get a licence before this farce.
There you go. First hand knowledge on the corvid/lamb issue. We don't have a lot of sheep around here so I've not come across it.@Broch
I think that's a bit harsh, though I do not live in your area.
Corvids learn. They learn from each other too. New born lambs are vulnerable. It's one thing to take the afterbirth, but the hoodies are known to take lambs eyes and tongues, indeed will try to take them of the resting ewe too. It's a known problem, and the only way to deal with it is to lamb in shelter with someone in attendance, because the hoodies will come into a barn too. They are bold and determined birds.
Providing shelter is a problem in itself since hillfarming in the west of Scotland (and the north of England, etc.,) is just that, on the hills, and barns are few and far between. Under shelter means feeding them too, and that's another financial burden on an industry that's already feeling more than a pinch.
There is a lot of reporting and literature and academic work on the problem. I'm not going to link, but suggest that you simply google
Hoodie crows, lambs eyes
Yes there will be sensationalised mince out there, and claims about them only taking couped ewes and weak lambs, but there's also a lot of sound reporting on the problems caused by corvids on healthy animals among sheep flocks.
Closer to home I know someone who chased off a hoodie that was pecking ferociously at the back of her goats. It seemed to be going for the fat where the kidneys were, and left open wounds. The bird came back with another of it's kind. The goat owner finally got a neighbour with an air rifle to shoot them and let her goats heal.
A fortnight later there were three others getting too close, so as a pre-emptive strike they were shot too.
How that sits with the licences and 30 days trying other things I don't know, but it's their reality, their animals, their way of dealing with a problem.
I think that kind of thing must be repeated right across the country.
Pigeons are a pest round here, and we're suburban now. I can only imagine the damage a flock of them would cause in a seeded field. We call them flying rats. Pigeons can and will breed all year round so long as there is sufficient food. They're taking the seedcrop and their numbers are soaring.
Thirty days of them guzzling on a field while folks wait for a licence, and there'll be nothing left to grow.
Yeah, but the problem I usually see here, and I expect it occurs there with the BBC also, is that those two differing speakers and viewpoints are aired separately instead of together so viewers can get a balance comparison. In other words, even when both are presented on the same network they still create that media bubble you mentioned: farmers watch the farming viewpoint and city folk watch the tree hugger viewpoint.Suppose it depends which social media circles you see (there can be that social media bubble), farming weekly? ran a poll To see if he should be sacked from the bbc, it was 70% no the last time I saw it. There seems to be larger support for him. Also having two dead crows hung from his front gate will probably galvanize more support. I don’t have a problem with someone employed by the bbc to talk about wildlife supporting wildlife. As I also wouldn’t have a problem from someone employed by the bbc to talk about farming supporting the farmers’ viewpoint.
@Broch
I think that's a bit harsh, though I do not live in your area.
Corvids learn. They learn from each other too. New born lambs are vulnerable. It's one thing to take the afterbirth, but the hoodies are known to take lambs eyes and tongues, indeed will try to take them of the resting ewe too. It's a known problem, and the only way to deal with it is to lamb in shelter with someone in attendance, because the hoodies will come into a barn too. They are bold and determined birds.
Providing shelter is a problem in itself since hillfarming in the west of Scotland (and the north of England, etc.,) is just that, on the hills, and barns are few and far between. Under shelter means feeding them too, and that's another financial burden on an industry that's already feeling more than a pinch.
There is a lot of reporting and literature and academic work on the problem. I'm not going to link, but suggest that you simply google
Hoodie crows, lambs eyes
Yes there will be sensationalised mince out there, and claims about them only taking couped ewes and weak lambs, but there's also a lot of sound reporting on the problems caused by corvids on healthy animals among sheep flocks.
Closer to home I know someone who chased off a hoodie that was pecking ferociously at the back of her goats. It seemed to be going for the fat where the kidneys were, and left open wounds. The bird came back with another of it's kind. The goat owner finally got a neighbour with an air rifle to shoot them and let her goats heal.
A fortnight later there were three others getting too close, so as a pre-emptive strike they were shot too.
How that sits with the licences and 30 days trying other things I don't know, but it's their reality, their animals, their way of dealing with a problem.
I think that kind of thing must be repeated right across the country.
Pigeons are a pest round here, and we're suburban now. I can only imagine the damage a flock of them would cause in a seeded field. We call them flying rats. Pigeons can and will breed all year round so long as there is sufficient food. They're taking the seedcrop and their numbers are soaring.
Thirty days of them guzzling on a field while folks wait for a licence, and there'll be nothing left to grow.
Odly enough we had foxes nearby and never had a problem with them taking lambs, they were more of an issue to poultry.
Have you ever had problems with badgers taking lambs?
Someone i know who hunts and is about farms mentioned before how foxes get a blame for a lot, but he thinks badgers are more likely to take a lamb than a fox.
That was exactly the conclusion of the research that was carried out. It also showed that shooting foxes (or any other way of killing them) was of no benefit at all; another one moved in within days.