Increased amount of Badger roadkill

[Blackdogjnr]

Originally Posted by sunnydale

It may sound silly but the thought of cars repeatedly hitting/driving over the animal really gets to me....even if it is already dead

My wife always used to feel that it was so undignified to be a dead animal, just be left there in the road and years ago I used to think she was a bit silly.

Now it's always me who's pulling over and popping dead squirrels into the hedgerows away from the tarmac and tyres

If its not that its tesco plastic bags. ugh.

[Paul mabbott]

Yes, during late January-early February we saw five: mostly in Northamptonshire but near Chesterfield. Most of them were relatively small (but not really youngsters).
Dis their behaviour change with ths cold and snow perhaps - lost track of their normal routes, perhaps?
Very sad.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by sunnydale

Well, if it was safe to do so, then I would pull over and at least move the Badger from the road.
It may sound silly but the thought of cars repeatedly hitting/driving over the animal really gets to me....even if it is already dead
.

i normally stop for fresh roadkill too - both to make sure that its actually dead ( if only injured it might be saveable or at least in need of a humane despatch) , and also because as someone said higher up baiting gangs sometimes dump badger carcases on the road and a big upswing in numbers in one place can indicate a problem that the NFBG and police wlo need to be made aware of.

that said badger roadkills increase at this time of year anyway due to last years young males being booted out of the sett by the dominant boar.

[diapasonbill]

Originally Posted by eeyore

i normally stop for fresh roadkill too - both to make sure that its actually dead ( if only injured it might be saveable or at least in need of a humane despatch)

Hi eeyore, and everyone else following this thread.

May I just add a word of caution. I understand an injured badger can be a dangerous animal to handle, I believe this is due to them having the ability to bite & lock the jaws closed! So if anyone finds an injured badger, please contact your local wildlife rescue centre, who should have the equipment and expertise to handle it in safety.
Bill

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by diapasonbill

Hi eeyore, and everyone else following this thread.

May I just add a word of caution. I understand an injured badger can be a dangerous animal to handle, I believe this is due to them having the ability to bite & lock the jaws closed! So if anyone finds an injured badger, please contact your local wildlife rescue centre, who should have the equipment and expertise to handle it in safety.
Bill

good point bill - i should have said that.

I am a trained conservation proffesional with previous experience of handling injured animals so it didnt occur to me - but for the uninitiated if you find any injured animal exercise extreme caution in handling it - if you have no choice its best to use either thick gloves or a coat or similar to act as a barrier between you and it.

Its not just the obvious ones like badger and fox either - even squirels can inflict nasty bites , and a freind of mine once suffered a ruptured testicle after being kicked in the groin by a hare (which he was extricating from a fox snare at the time)

[diapasonbill]

There you go Eeyore, the possibility of that sort of injury from a hare would never have occured to me, from an injured deer maybe, and I for one can be a little impulsive when dealing with animals in vulnerable circumstances. About 3 years, or so, ago I stopped the traffic after dark on an A road because I could not run over a little owl that was sitting in the road in front of me. I got out of the car expecting it to fly off if not injured, but it just sat there, so I crouched down and cupped my hands under it and went to lift it, but it flew off as soon as I touched the feathers. It was a wonderful experience, but afterwards I thought about the damage I could have sustained to my bare hands! I must remember to think before I act with frightened, possibly injured wild creatures!
Bill.

[Phoebe]

Originally Posted by diapasonbill

There you go Eeyore, the possibility of that sort of injury from a hare would never have occured to me, from an injured deer maybe, and I for one can be a little impulsive when dealing with animals in vulnerable circumstances. About 3 years, or so, ago I stopped the traffic after dark on an A road because I could not run over a little owl that was sitting in the road in front of me. I got out of the car expecting it to fly off if not injured, but it just sat there, so I crouched down and cupped my hands under it and went to lift it, but it flew off as soon as I touched the feathers. It was a wonderful experience, but afterwards I thought about the damage I could have sustained to my bare hands! I must remember to think before I act with frightened, possibly injured wild creatures!
Bill.

I did the same on an 'A' road last year. There was a little Rabbit huddled up in the middle of the road - I stopped right in front of it thinking it would run off but it didn't, hazard lights on, I got out of my car and rescued it without a thought to my safety. It didn't appear injured but looked a bit wet and more frightened than anything else. I put him under some laurels nearby. I also noticed a man had pulled up in his car ahead of me to check if the rabbit was OK. It was good to see other people concerned for the wildlife!

[Spyroviper]

Originally Posted by sunnydale

Well, if it was safe to do so, then I would pull over and at least move the Badger from the road.
It may sound silly but the thought of cars repeatedly hitting/driving over the animal really gets to me....even if it is already dead

A bit off topic, but a blackbird once flew under my car while I was driving and when I looked through my mirror, I could see it dead on the road. I stopped, walked back and picked it up. I buried it in my garden within the hour.
I just couldn't leave it there to be completely mutilated by other cars running over it.

If only everyone was as considerate as you. It's astonishing still, how many people just don't care at all. I have not seen any dead badgers (or even badgers) for years. However, dead foxes are seen quite a lot on the dual carriage ways. Sometimes I see them on the way to work, lovely creatures.