Wednesday, 11 March 2020

Badgers, Beavers and Butterflies

Wildlife enthusiasts and dairy farmers will be relieved to know that the Government  has announced that the ineffective cull of Badgers and cattle as a means of reducing bovine TB is to be phased out in favour of a policy of vaccination, and an earlier and more effective test for infection in cattle  to replace the present skin test which doesn't detect early infection and thus results in a reservoir of infection within the herd. It is sad that scientific advice which has been available for several years has taken so long to be accepted.
Dorset Wildlife Trust has announced that it has now secured the necessary licenses to proceed with its enclosed Beaver trial, the first of its kind.The project will host research that will help us to understand the positive impact this species could have on chalk stream water quality, flood prevention and wildlife. Though highly desirable on the presently much abused South Winterborne we are unlikely to be lucky enough to get Beavers in the near future.
And a welcome sign of spring, a Brimstone butterfly, the first for the year, has just fluttered across my front garden.

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