Wildlife Crime: Fact or Fiction?
Barbaric levels of cruelty are taken against our British wildlife, often with poor excuses given to justify their abhorrent behaviour.
Our British wildlife has been afforded some level of legal protection for many years, yet today we still see so much of it persecuted by humans. Barbaric levels of cruelty are taken against our British wildlife, often with poor excuses given to justify their abhorrent behaviour.
Below are just some of the excuses often used by perpetrators. Take a look yourself and see if you can tell apart the fact from the fiction. Let’s set the facts straight about wildlife crimes and the persecution of our British wildlife.
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"Hunting is necessary as a control of fox overpopulation?"
FICTION
There’s no scientific evidence to support the argument that the population of foxes needs to be controlled, let alone by method of barbaric animal cruelty, such as hunting with hounds.
In fact, it has been known that some hunts have released captive foxes for the sole purpose of hunting, quite the opposite of population control.
"Badgers are nocturnal animals, and try to avoid interactions with humans"
FACT
Badgers live in homes, known as setts, with their families, where they are known to spend upwards of 70% of their time underground. Being nocturnal, badgers do most of their foraging and hunting during the night, and are acutely aware of their surroundings or any potential threats. This is why it’s such a rarity to spot a badger in the wild.
"Foxes are a danger to humans and to my pets"
FICTION
Fun fact from our patron Chris Packham – You’re approximately 62 times more likely to be bitten by a human than you are a fox.
Foxes are not a danger, and are unlikely to attack unless confined and provoked, as with most living animals. Corroborated attacks on people or pets are extremely rare. This is also the case with badgers.
"Foxes are not exclusively carnivores"
FACT
Despite having a reputation of eating chickens and other livestock, foxes are, in fact, opportunistic omnivores. This means they survive off a varied diet of ‘live prey’ such as rabbits and insects, but also berries and other fruits.
"Hare coursing is a traditional sport in some cultures and causes no harm"
FICTION
Hare coursing has been used historically as a ‘sport’ in which participants have gambled large quantities of money on the winning dog who catches and rips apart the hare first.
‘Tradition’ or not, there is no place for animal cruelty in the 21st century. Immense suffering is caused to hares being ripped apart by dogs. Dogs are regularly injured by fencing, and barbed wire, often left untreated and substantial ecological and criminal damage is caused by those driving through crops and damaging rural property.
Rural communities are still today being terrorised, living in fear, often threatened and intimidated by hare coursers.
"Badgers are dirty animals and spread disease"
FICTION
Badgers have been observed to clean out their bedding on a daily basis, more than most humans. They also toilet away from their living areas in latrines. You could say that badgers are in fact toilet-trained wildlife!
There have been years of badger culls brought in by the government, which have been described as tackling ‘tuberculosis issues in rural communities’. However, the scientific evidence behind the cull orders has actually suggested a cull would do nothing but encourage spread of TB with any potentially infected badger fleeing to other territories.
How you can help
There are lots of ways to help with our work, from making a donation through to holding fundraising events or even getting involved as a volunteer. Below, you can explore the different ways to help us continue raising standards for animals.
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Millions of animals bred for research are never used and their fate goes unrecorded.
Urge your MP to stand up for these forgotten victims.
UK wildlife is under threat, yet crimes against it are treated as minor offences. Urgent legal reform is needed.
Join us in telling your local MP why a change in law is vital to protect our wildlife.
Join us in asking the UK Government to finally end animal testing for all everyday household products.
Unethical extreme designer pet trends are pushing cats and kittens to the limit.
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Take part in a way that works for you, whether volunteering, fundraising or donating items, and help create a kinder future for animals.
