Posted on 08/01/2016 5:36:56 AM PDT by Loyalist
A Viscountess has blamed badgers for the slaughter of 200 lambs on her familys estate, as she called for a widespread cull of the animals.
Helene, Viscountess Scarsdale, a formidable aristocrat, said the lambs had been killed in three years, while also accusing the National Trust, which now owns historic Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, of allowing the badgers to wreak havoc.
She said 500 acres of beautiful parkland at Kedleston, which has been in the family for almost 1,000 years, had been allowed to turn into thistles and nettles by the trust, which in turn had let badgers thrive.
The National Trust took over Kedleston about 30 years ago. Their son, the fourth Viscount Scarsdale, lives in a wing of the stately home. She said she had been horrified by what she believes is the killing of lambs owned by a tenant farmer.
Badgers, she says, have also killed hedgehogs and bees in her grounds. Farmers have been demanding a cull of badgers, blaming them for the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
Badgers are protected but pilot culls are in place in Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset.
Lady Scarsdale, 81, told The Telegraph: In just three or four years, 200 lambs have been killed by badgers. They leave such a mess in the fields. They shred their victims immediately. Badgers are far worse than foxes. They eat everything.
They have these claws and teeth that lock on. All they leave behind is the spine and skull.
We need to get rid of the badgers. I would like a machine gun. I said to friends, 'Would you visit me in prison? and they said, 'Well, thats where you will be.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I have a simple peoposal for a solution that would benefit this land owner, AND, be a money-making event.
It is true that ‘guns’ are not exactly as easy to own in that part of the world, no?
It is true that there are a lot of ‘field archers’ across the land, no?
Why not make a 7-day long event, (if the land owner can stand rubbing elbows with the great unwashed for that long), where all field archers (no RHIP) pay an affordable entrance fee for a day’s foray, harvesting any and badgers and other field vermin as happened upon. The entrance fees would pay for a burgers and dogs lunch, an afternoon cup of tea, a bottle of water or two during the day, and a portable facility, to ensure that folks don’t go tracking through the house. Of course the gameskeeper would conduct the groups to ensure the safety of the groups attending.
Lastly, the badger skins would be auctioned off for any grounds repairs.
Scarsdale Goes Fully Automatic
Scarsdale Surprise: This Time It's Personal
Badgering Scarsdale
Is there anything government can’t do?
——thistles and nettles——
In the overall ecology of a specific location, the botanical end state is the climax forest.
for a well tended pasture, the presence of thistles and nettles is in fact the first stage of the ecological succession to the climax forest.
For the land in question, the battle against ecological succession has apparently been in progress for 1100 years. Thus, Thistles and Nettles are to be opposed and eradicated
Oh, they’re SO cute! I bet they’d make great pets.
Wisconsin will not be happy about a rich countess coming with a machine gun to kill all the Badgers.
But, but the Disney movie THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA showed badgers to be nice and friendly! They would not even tear out a “witches” throat!
Wisconsin is known as "The Badger State", not because of a massive infestation of aggressive critters but because early lead miners dug out underground burrows for protection from Wisconsin winters.
Regards,
GtG
Fully automatic is a terrible option for badgers. Now if she wanted it for zombies, I would approve completely.
I appreciate her dilemma. I have the same problem with deer and my rose bushes. I just never thought about a machine gun. I’ll have to give that a try.
If I ever have an estate like that, I’ll look into it and let you know.
Powerball......................
But then I wouldn’t need the National Trust or equivalent. Just enough for a really good fence around my estate. Oh yeah, and some machine guns.
A crossbow might upset the neighbors a lot less. Derr are as common in my neighborhood as rabbits. They’re there, totally unafraid, in often large numbers, at most times and places. Our subdivision ought to be named “Deer Park.”
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