Human Aided Evolution NOT "Invasive Species"

 Back in March of this year I posted "UK and "Exotic Species" -Human Aided Evolution NOT "Invasive Species" on the Exotic Animals Register blog.

I am currently updating this for various reasons.

If we are to kill one type of "invasive species" such as large cats, raccoon dogs, porcupine, boar and so on then there can be no quibbling or arguing: all introduced species are invasive therefore ALL need eradication.

Canada Goose for example. Any and all foxes that appear to have the traits of the North American Red/silver Fox. Felis silvestris introduced around the UK unofficially since the 1990s. Muntjac and other deer need to be culled until gone. Every parakeet -and there are big flocks- needs to be eradicated. Every wild living wallaby will need to be eradicated. There are still some wild budgerigars -eradication required.

There can be no "Ah but--" or "Well, they don't do that much harm" -line is drawn: invasive species is invasive species and they all require eradication.

But these "invasive species" are ones identified and put onto lists by people that have not studied them in the UK. Since 1976 I have researched, investigated and studied "non native" cats -small to large in the UK. I have looked at their territories and habits. In fact I have spent 45 years on this work as both a UK police forces consultant as well as being consulted by farming and other groups. I studied and picked up a lot of material from naturalists before me who did the same work -more low key and sadly none of their work was ever published before their deaths BECAUSE they knew of the risks to the animals involved.

My updated post will make it very clear my own stance as well as how we should be treating "invasive species" because our native species such as foxes and badgers, red squirrels and hedgehogs are treated no better but I shall go into this in the post.

It is time we began to understand how the "invasive species" are really interacting in our island eco system and how there has even been a pack of wolves free roaming since the early 1990s (possibly before then) and these are (as I found out) protected by local farmers and estate wardens.

And, no, I will NOT be divulging locations.

How to Bring Wilderness Back to Britain | Rewilding UK

Raccoon Dogs In The UK -Pets Escaped and Wild Living

 Some times I wonder why I bother.

Apparently there have been escapes and or releases of Raccoon Dogs in the UK -in Lincolnshire and Manchester areas this year. Others are known to be living wild in certain areas and have had no effect on the eco system and the EAR is against the DEFRA policy of "eradication" or killing these "invasive species" some of which have been in the UK for a very long time and yet, where known to exist have caused none of the damage predicted.

Japanese Raccon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus)  

Siberian / Ussuri Raccoon Dog (N. p. ussuriensis)

I have been monitoring raccoon Dogs in England since the early 1980s though it is likely they have been present since the late 19th/early 20th century. Like most wild canids the Raccoon Dog has been hunted and killed in the thousands -particularly the Japanese RD which has survived where the previous Japanese government policies led to wolves being wiped out.

If you see a raccoon dog in the UK do not approach it as it could have young or living in the wild be more aggressive than normal. If you have a dog keep it leashed. If you can photograph the animal then please do and then report the sighting to myself -I can be messaged via Face Book messenger on the UK Carnivore Advisory page or email me at  blacktowercg@hotmail.com 

UK National Carnivore Advisory

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/245424620670933 

A Coyote in Devon?

 Remember how in 2019 and 2020 people anonymously sent me images of supposed large cats in and around Devon? One included a 'puma' walking across the road which was very clearly a female lion.

The people behind this were with a cryptozoological group and I believe this was all done to either discredit me or make me waste my time.

Well, I got sent this photo "taken in a village in Devon during the 2020 lockdown"

sigh

Alright, my main field of interest are canids and felids and so I am well aware of a lot of things going on as well as canid projects. In fact, I had posted this very image to the Fox Wildcat and Wolverine private group abouttwo weeks ago. It originates from the Portland Urban Coyote Project.  Not Devon.  If you see this posted around elsewhere as being from the UK it is NOT.

"Animal Unknown" Photograph

 It is no secret that I started advising UK police forces on exotic animals and particularly 'non native cats' back in 1977 and I still occasionally do so since most "British Big Cat" experts out there are unable to define Big cat from Medium and Small cats or give any accurate facts. In fact, one in particular may well be fronting for a group that wants to "hunt big cats" and have really tried their best to push the "They are coming for your kids and pets" narrative. These cats, whether black panthers (no, 'experts', that is not a separate species to the leopard), puma, lynx or others, have been (provable) in the UK since at least the 15th century and guess what? No mass slaughter of kids or pets.

Canids such as the Raccoon-like Dog or simply Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides)of which there are five types, have also been sighted and unless you want to see DEFRA send someone out to kill them do what I do: keep quiet (after telling me of course!). 

Since 1977 the one thing I have done which the 'big cat experts' haven't (because this is a hobby to them to get 5 minutes of fame) is ask about the local area. I study what other animals are around, the type of countryside, buildings or other places that an animal might lie up in overnight and much more. The one thing I have found is that none of these "invasive species" has actually had a detrimental effect on the British countryside. In fact some are protected by estates and gamekeepers because they are very effective predators and with millions of wild rabbits and deer a large predator is needed. Some report deer herds have become healthier as a result of the predators.

I have a largeset of index cards, maps and much more so when a farming group or college or otherestablishment contacts me anything they come up with does not surprise me. Whether it's Wolverine, genets, etc -I am ready. But when you sit back like that and act smug you really ought to expect something to pop up.

A museum recently asked whether I could identify an animal in a photograph taken in the "SW of England" a few years back. I first checked th photographic image to see whether someone had been pulling a hoax but all the data seemed on the straight. I guessed at what the animal was but I always prefer to get opinions from bodies such as the Natural History Museum.  However, the Natural History Museum after a month has not gotten back to me with an identification. So I decided to double check what I thought the animal was by looking at the diagnostic features.

Here is the photo:

My conclusion was a Common Bushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). "In the UK?" Well I heard that same question in the Barking Beast of Bath case when I found that the animal involved was a chimpanzee.

Possums are kept as pets in the UK with no licence required but a specialist diet and care are needed. These animals are from Australia and New Zealand but are being bred as well as sold in the UK.  The UK brought in the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act but over the years it proved a joke and licencing is the only way you can control trade but, as it stands, no one knows of the breeding success or numbers though obviously the number being sold on as juveniles indicates there is success.

We have no idea what happened to this one. Had it been reported to me at the time then a search could have been organised to trap and rescue it -though there is the option that someone let their pet out for a walk (I have no details of the circumstances in which the photo was taken) but that the neighbours never knew there was a possum in the street.

So, a mystery solved for a museum and a break from dealing with unusual fox cub deaths.