To advertise in this section contact Classifieds
Peter Britton on 01747 855335 email:
peter@pitchcare.com
DRAINAGE Miles Drainage Limited Draining and Gravel Banding
also Vertidraining, Hollow Coring, Overseeding, Field Top Maker, Deep Scarifying
Mobile: 07860 259692
Tel: 01284 735105 Email:
peter@buryturfcare.com www.buryturfcare.com
Philip Dixon Contractors Ltd Established 1978
Sportsturf Drainage Specialist Drainage Construction Renovation
Quality Land Drainage Systems for Sports Pitches, Golf Courses and other Amenity Areas
•Advice, design and installation •Piped systems •Sand Slitting •Gravel Banding
Tel: 01359 259424 Fax: 01359 258073 Web:
www.milesdrainage.co.uk
Email:
trenchers@milesdrainage.co.uk
Traditional drainage and Lytag banding of greens and fairways
Slitting Banding Maintenance
Tel 01772 877289 (Preston, Lancs) Email:
info@dixondrainage.co.uk www.dixondrainage.co.uk
Tel: 01785 812706
E:
NSIrrigation@aol.com www.northstaffsirrigation.co.uk
DRAIN TODAY - PLAY TOMORROW
Andy Beddoes offers some advice on badgers and what can and cannot to be done to control them
Kenneth Graham have humanised and romaticised the European badger, and it is now confirmed as one of the ‘good guys’ in children’s books and folklore. That’s, of course, if they are not doing damage to your sports surfaces. The European badger (Meles
A
Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire WN6 9DT
e
t 01257 255321
www.pitchcare.com Phone: 01507 578288
Fax: 01507 578790
info@sheltonsdrainage.com www.sheltonsdrainage.com
Hire and contracting services Machine sales
long with many other native British wildlife, authors such as Beatrice Potter and
challenge to stop it. The Badger Trust appealed against Welsh Assembly Government plans for a trial cull to reduce TB within cattle. The trust had questioned the cull’s effectiveness, though farmers losing diseased stock wanted action.
To subscribe to Pitchcare magazine log on to
www.pitchcare.com or telephone 01902 440 252
142
meles), or Brocks, as they are often referred to, have complete protection under both the European Bern Convention of 1979 and the UK’s 1992 Protection of Badgers Act. Be aware of this, as even removing nettles from around a sett could cause you to face prosecution. However, both of these documents allow for exemptions “to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries, water and other forms of property”, provided “there is no other satisfactory solution and that the exception will not be detrimental to the survival of the (wildlife) population concerned”. In addition, the UK’s Animal Health Act of 1981 sets out conditions under which a designated government minister can order a cull. The minister must be satisfied that a wildlife species is acting as a reservoir of an animal disease, and “that destruction of wild members of that or those species in that area is necessary in order to eliminate, or substantially reduce the incidence of, that disease in animals of any kind in the area”, then he or she may “by order, provide for the destruction of wild members of that or those species in that area”. Simple! A controversial cull of around
1,500 badgers in south-west Wales has been halted after protesters won their legal
it was “disappointed” with the Court of Appeal’s judgement. Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said she would need to consider the judges’ decision in detail before deciding the next steps. The Badger Trust has
The assembly government said
Badgers
THE TALES OF MR BADGER...
consistently argued that the cull plan wasn’t backed by science. What was clarified during the Appeal Court hearing was that a 9% reduction in cattle TB was all the government was expecting. Two of the three judges said this didn’t amount to a “substantial” reduction in disease - and that’s what’s required in law to kill badgers. Farmers say they’re disappointed, but there is still a package of other TB control measures in place.
One consequence could be an increase in the extent to which farmers quietly (and illegally) dispose of badgers on their land. But, if there’s one clear message emerging from the science, it’s that scattergun killing will make things worse. Systematic killing might have made things better - but only slightly.
Why was it planned?
Infection through contact with badgers is one of the main routes by which cattle contract bovine tuberculosis (though nationally, cattle-to-cattle transmission is more significant).
This debilitating disease is
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156