How to stop badger being run out of town
15
Mar 2005 - The Glasgow Herald
VICKY COLLINS, Environment Correspondent
THEY
are reclusive neighbours at the best of times but now the urban badger
is in danger of disappearing from our cities completely.
Badgers
have been living quietly in the parks and woodlands in built-up areas
for generations – far longer than more recent incomers such as foxes,
squirrels, and deer.
However,
with new roads cutting across the trails to their feeding areas and new
housing burying their sets, experts say their existence is threatened.
An increasing number are also being killed by cars and badger baiting and digging.
Now Glasgow City Council has agreed a plan to help protect them and encourage an increase in numbers living in the city.
The
council aims to establish how many badgers live in the city and the
location of sets and feeding grounds, which can then be protected from
any proposed developments.
A survey in Inverness last year found 191 sets, 33 of which were on land earmarked for housing developments.
Glasgow
City Council also wants to create badger fencing and tunnels to help
the animals negotiate roads safely, as well as providing more grassland
for foraging in areas they are known to visit.
A
working group will be established to co-ordinate the efforts of all
conservation groups working in the city. A website and leaflets will
help raise public awareness of the animals and their needs. Jim Coyle, the
council's environmental policy and research manager, said: "They have always
been in the city but the city is growing larger and the badgers are having
to adapt to that. It
is not a question of stopping developments, it is about how to
integrate development to help protect badgers and other animals."
The authority is aware of at least five sets in the city, although it is not clear if all of them are occupied.
The badger plan is part of wider efforts to promote and protect wildlife, plants, and birds living in Glasgow.
Margaret
Sinclair, the council's environmental sustainability spokeswoman, said:
"This plan is not just about protecting wildlife and green space, it's
also good for the environment and enhances the lives of our citizens." For more information, please click the following link:
Badger Encounters in the Wild book |
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Superb
book of Jim Crumley's encounters with badgers in the wild in Scotland. The quality of the writing is superb.
A great read. Click here to buy:
Encounters in the wild
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