*** First badger cull baitpoints of 2019 found ***

Tuesday 15th July 2019. Baitpoints have been found in West Gloucestershire (zone 1) and are believed to be for cage trapping as they are right up at a fence near an active sett. Matthew Price (cull director) has just driven past a sab on his way to the sett and has now disappeared.

To our knowledge these are the first baitpoints found for this year’s culls but this is not suprising as this is a supplementary zone and culling is believed to have started (or could legally have started) 6 weeks ago.

The baitpoints have been here at least a few days because the badgers have left lots of peanut skins and dug down deep for more. Normal practice would then be to put cages down for them to be trapped and shot the next day. Many of those shot will be cubs, many badgers will be trapped for hours in this heat.

The peanuts may have been to lure the badgers into the field to be shot as some baitpoints went a little way into the field and if badgers don’t normally take a route that is good for shooting, bait can be left to draw them in a certain direction.

Please continue to support us in looking out for badgers in the 7th year of the cull here (which will go on until January)

*** Berkeley Hunt, who claim to lay trails, host ‘Earth-Stoppers Supper’ in area soon to be involved in badger culling ***

“Successful hunting depends very largely on thorough earth-stopping, which means blocking foxes’ dens while they’re out, so they cannot duck back in” – Terrence Carroll

“… if a fox goes to ground, half a crown will be deducted for every time any hole is found open – money paid to them at an annual dinner in the centre of the country” – Thomas Smith Esq.

“Many countries used to pay an earth-stopper a regular salary, and then fine him half-a-crown each time a fox went to ground in a known earth”. The Duke of Beaufort (quoted above) said that his earth-stoppers would have an annual feast in Badminton (he would lead the singing) then they would be “presented with a fee on the production of their pile of earth-stopping cards”.

With hunts now claiming to follow laid trails, why would the Berkeley Hunt be hosting a supper for their earth-stoppers last Saturday evening? We currently have a number of people out surveying for badger setts (due to the upcoming culls – see Gloucestershire Badger Office for more information) and one group noticed a sudden influx of vehicles heading into the Berkeley Estate (with the Berkeley Show the following day they were either very early or there for another reason…).

Laying on the grass near the premises was an invite, picked up by our sett-surveyors… the contact number to RSVP to is Tom Whittaker’s – the Hunt Secretary. Apparently they failed to mention ‘Earth-Stoppers Supper’ on their hunt supporter’s club section of the hunt website.

For more information about our work against earth-stopping and hunting, see our articles ‘Hunts vs Badgers‘ and ‘Terrierwork: Past and Present‘

If you have any information regarding the Berkeley Hunt and their earth-stopping or other activities, please send it our way – we are well-known for keeping our sources’ identities confidential and you can contact us anonymously by phone on 07891 639803 or via email – threecountiessabs[at]live.co.uk or via facebook.