***Badger trap found outside of known cull areas***

Friday 25th November saw us head to the Ledbury Hunt who we had heard would be around Pendock. We found them soon after they left the meet, catching up with them at Berrow Hill (by Underhill Farm where the ‘lovely’ Will Hunt, supporter of the hunt, horse breaker and trainer and supporter of Vale Wildlife Hospital*, works).

*only because he agreed to make a donation as part of an apology to a 3C sab earlier this year (for hitting him in the face at a hunt meet)

As the hunt, and we, moved on, we prioritised checking on an area nearby (where we’ve caught terrierboy Oscar Bates and pals misbehaving in the past) in order to ensure no foxes had been run to ground. And we found a badger trap… Unfortunately there was someone skulking around in the covert, so we may have prevented something happening, but the trap had also been removed when we went back later.

The hunt later chased a fox over a couple of miles into an area near Welland where a number of badger setts have been blocked up badly in the past before hunt meets. Hounds sounded like they were marking to ground, so a sab ran in, finding the hunt trying to pick up again. Hounds began to speak and ran towards another covert, jockey David Mansell trying to ride at the sab but being told to stop by other members of the hunt and huntsman Mark taking the hounds away from the line and off to second-horse.

This area is one that the hunt could (and often do) spend a huge amount of the day in so it was obvious they had not intended to go there (apparently no one told the trail layer this…) as they moved swiftly on to Castlemorton Common before returning to Underhill Farm.

With the discovery of the badger trap in this area (which was not thought to be part of the Glos, Here or North Cots cull zones) this is a good time to plug some sett-surveying / training days in the three counties. The information gathered during surveying is vital both for when a cull comes to an area and for being more prepared when it comes to activities like sabbing hunts – our sabs have caught badger baiters and terriermen in the process of digging out setts and hunt supporters blocking them over the last couple of seasons.

Please get along to these if you can or contact us (or Gloucestershire Badger Office) for more information on surveying, culls, etc.

4th December – Cirencester / Cotswolds (click link to view event)

11th December – Malvern, Worcs (click link to view event)

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