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> The one thing the pressure groups hate mentioning is badgers There is a sub-text throughout all of this, which is touched upon but not explicitly stated: cul

by m0nty 11y ago

> The one thing the pressure groups hate mentioning is badgers There is a sub-text throughout all of this, which is touched upon but not explicitly stated: culling of badgers in Britain is a highly emotive subject, and it's become one of the touchstone issues for many people, along with (for example) fox-hunting and other so-called blood-sports. (Although the badgers are being culled, rather than hunted for sport.) The UK government seems committed to reducing badger numbers at the urging of the farming industry who despise badgers for their role in spreading bovine tuberculosis. Opponents of the cull maintain it merely disperses badgers, making the TB problem worse. So if badgers are killing hedgehogs (an even more popular animal due to their role in English folklore and fiction) it might change attitudes towards badger culling. Personally, I think he underplays the role of road-kill in their demise, the "flat hedgehog" has become a cultural reference-point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R5tUc1S3cc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R5tUc1S3cc It will be interesting to see if this story goes mainstream and affects the ongoing debate in any way.

oneandoneis2 11y ago
Hedgehogs aren't nearly as common road-kill casualties as people tend to think - it's just that their prickles break down really slowly, so we see more of their remains on the road than other animals. Not because so many of them die, just because the evidence hangs around longer.
- m0nty 11y ago
  Yes, it's a good point - it just looks awful so I suppose it registers. High levels of road-kill also indicate that there is enough of a species to become road-kill on a frequent basis. The wet Spring a few years ago caused a significant decline in some bird species, Barn Owls being among them. Biologists knew this because they were finding fewer road-killed owls. So anyway, that's part of the reason I said he "underplays" the road-kill effect, rather than using it as a way to outright dismiss his arguments.
anon1385 11y ago
The badger cull is absolutely the only reason this article was written. Note that Ridley is a member of the UK government, so it's not a coincidence that he would be writing an article to defend the UK government's policies.

by m0nty 11y ago

oneandoneis2 11y ago

Hedgehogs aren't nearly as common road-kill casualties as people tend to think - it's just that their prickles break down really slowly, so we see more of their remains on the road than other animals. Not because so many of them die, just because the evidence hangs around longer.

m0nty 11y ago
Yes, it's a good point - it just looks awful so I suppose it registers. High levels of road-kill also indicate that there is enough of a species to become road-kill on a frequent basis. The wet Spring a few years ago caused a significant decline in some bird species, Barn Owls being among them. Biologists knew this because they were finding fewer road-killed owls. So anyway, that's part of the reason I said he "underplays" the road-kill effect, rather than using it as a way to outright dismiss his arguments.

anon1385 11y ago

The badger cull is absolutely the only reason this article was written. Note that Ridley is a member of the UK government, so it's not a coincidence that he would be writing an article to defend the UK government's policies.