Any animal killers here?

[Hydromet]

Why do they release these snakes?

Why not? Let them go in the bush, you'll probably never see them again.
I live in a suburb next to the bush, we have maybe one or two snakes - red bellied blacks or diamond pythons, usually, but I'm sure there are many more we don't see.
In the whole of Australia, there are on average between one and two deaths from snakebite per year. Almost all are people trying to kill the snake. I can only recall one that wasn't, where a bloke got out of a vehicle to open a gate and stepped on (I think) a tiger snake, then didn't get proper treatment.

[Ex-Ascot]

Why do they release these snakes?

Why not? Let them go in the bush, you'll probably never see them again.
I live in a suburb next to the bush, we have maybe one or two snakes - red bellied blacks or diamond pythons, usually, but I'm sure there are many more we don't see.
In the whole of Australia, there are on average between one and two deaths from snakebite per year. Almost all are people trying to kill the snake. I can only recall one that wasn't, where a bloke got out of a vehicle to open a gate and stepped on (I think) a tiger snake, then didn't get proper treatment.

We live IN the bush. Snakes are part of our life. Never heard of anyone being bitten apart from folk trying to catch them or handle them. They will always go away from you. I was however sitting in a chair on the lawn on one occasion and a Mozambique spitting cobra came across the grass straight at me. I lifted my feet and it went under my chair and carried on. It just wanted to get from A to B and didn't realise that I was in the middle as I wasn't moving. We have wire netting outer doors to keep nasties out but one has a small gap under it. We had a very long Natal green (harmless) in the house two weeks ago. Just left the doors open and it went out.

We murder the African tree squirrels and rats though. We put poison down (safe for secondary poisoning), shoot them and have two electronic traps. They nest in our thatch and eat books in our library. Absolute pain. In six years we have definitely reduced the population of these things. As far as the rats are concerned having the odd python about is good news.

Our project manager was telling us the other day that he had been called into a house because something was obviously dead in the roof space. He opened it up and it was a massive beautiful African rock python. It had squeezed into there to catch the rats then got too fat to get out and died from the heat. It's body was scratched from trying to escape. Poor thing.

[OFSO]

Yeah, squirrels big problem in Islington London and for same reason, breaking in and damaging out of sheer vandalism. It's the immigrant Greys that are the problem. One hears from rural areas that the native Red squirrel is far more timid and not agressive. Their should be a bounty on killing greys.

[G-CPTN]

£500 to wipe out grey squirrels

[Capetonian]

The above might be extended to 2 legged immigrants as well!

[Flintstone]

One hears from rural areas that the native Red squirrel is far more timid and not agressive.

True dat.

A pox on grey squirrels. Unfortunately it kills the reds and if that doesn't get them the greys drive them out by brute force. I don't dislike any creature, it's just that some are a problem when Man puts them where they don't belong.

I used to think that melanistic (black) squirrels were confined to Canada but it turns out there's a colony about 15 miles from where I live. Cute little buggers, shouldn't be there though.





And so as to remain PC and keep the effnick balance.

[k3k3]

Pine Martins were a big problem in Germany, gnawing on anything rubbery and causing massive amounts of damage to car and house wiring.

[4mastacker]

Good grief!! That lady showed some bottle.

[Ex-Ascot]

Oh dear. Going out of town towards the Moremi Game Reserve to our out of town safari camp bar there there was a road block going into town. The police waved us through. Just now coming home going out of town, in a favorite police speed trap spot, I was stopped. I was doing 66 in a 60 zone. I was prepared to argue as you are allowed 10%. It was customs. They let through all sorts of scruffy small cars but picked on our Land Cruiser. A vehicle search. About 10 of them. Driving licence asked for. I said do not open the back there is a cool box balanced on a bag of fertiliser which may fall out. I will do it. He looked at all the cases of beer, bag of fertiliser, our gardener's bicycle wheel, soft drinks etc and realised that we were not the folk they were looking for. I asked him what he was looking for. He told me. I think that there has been a bit of poaching going on in the reserve. They didn't do a search. All the time I was talking to the guy at the back another chap was questioning Mrs Ex-Ascot in the pax seat. Told them we were in the tourist industry, were resident, against hunting and of course certainly poaching. Told him to keep up the good work and we were sent on our way.

Just reading the local chip wrapper and there is a campaign to bring back hunting here, headed by an American organisation! W@ankers.

[Capetonian]

BBC News - Botswana mulls lifting elephant hunting ban
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47330414

This makes it appear to be controlled and reasonable culling, rather than wanton killing and destruction. I worry that it would escalate from there.

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

It is worth remembering that we are having National elections here in October. All sorts of things are said in election campaigns.

Time will tell. Nothing is going to change short term and hopefully the photographic companies and conservationists end up having more clout than sleazy American hunting outfits and associations.

[Ex-Ascot]

Cape, Elephants do cause a lot of destruction here as you will see. They knock down so many trees. Two close to our house last year. They are incredibly intelligent and we have had many more move into the country since the hunting ban. They know that they are safe. There are two very plausible sides to the argument. But, you can't just start to shoot the odd elephant. Thus hunting is out of the question. As you say it would have to be an official cull. Due to their 'family' culture you have to take out a whole herd including the calves. How would that go down with our tourists? You go into areas here which were hunting concessions and the ellies see a human and they are very aggressive. We would have more of this and tourists will get damaged. Frogs are OK but they could kill a Brit.

The bottom line in the article says it all. Elections in October. He is after the rural votes.

It goes without saying that we are against it. Our human population here has increased considerably over the last 20 yrs. Although not a bad idea, are we culling the locals? I can think of a few I would volunteer to help with. We would start with the producers of Jungle Bunny noise.

Edit, 'er across the other side of the pool got in first. We say the same thing though. Also to add on the snake front we had one on the front lawn this morning. Not sure what is was. It was the colour of a black mamba, our most deadly. However the head was not the correct shape which is significantly 'coffin' shaped. We have it down as a harmless 'blind snake' but not sure. It was facing me but only moved when it felt the vibrations of my foot steps towards it.

[Flintstone]

Frogs are OK but they could kill a Brit.

I'm no fan of the French either but this seems a bit strong.

[ian16th]

Frogs are OK but they could kill a Brit.

I'm no fan of the French either but this seems a bit strong.

Nelson said:

"Firstly you must always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your own regarding their propriety. Secondly, you must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and thirdly you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil."

[ian16th]

£500 to wipe out grey squirrels

Aren't the only red squirrels left in England on the Isle of Wight?

[Hydromet]

Just out of interest, what is the 'Ounce of Fives Group'? I've heard of a bunch of fives, but never an ounce of. Google doesn't help.

[G-CPTN]

Aren't the only red squirrels left in England on the Isle of Wight?

Found in Scotland, the Lake District and Northumberland - though in diminishing numbers;

[ian16th]

Aren't the only red squirrels left in England on the Isle of Wight?

Found in Scotland, the Lake District and Northumberland - though in diminishing numbers;

Thanks, I used England as I was aware of them surviving in Scotland, I didn't know that there were any south of Hadrian s Wall.

[Flintstone]

Aren't the only red squirrels left in England on the Isle of Wight?

Found in Scotland, the Lake District and Northumberland - though in diminishing numbers;

Thanks, I used England as I was aware of them surviving in Scotland, I didn't know that there were any south of Hadrian s Wall.

Here's a new one for you, the Glis Glis aka 'Edible Dormouse'. A native of Western Europe it was released near Tring in Hertfordshire in 1902 by Lord Rothschild, the same clown who released the muntjac. The ridiculous thing is although the muntjac can be hunted all year round and grey squirrels (also an introduced species) are considered vermin so cannot be released once caught the Glis Glis is protected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_dormouse

[Flintstone]

"Firstly you must always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your own regarding their propriety. Secondly, you must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and thirdly you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil."

I quite like the devil, his eggs are tasty.