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Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Coati Rescue and the Exotic Animals Trade
The following from an exotic rescue is indicative of a problem we face today with kitchen-sink exotic animal breeders. Back up to the late 1990s the EAR had worked with others to stop illegal exotic animal selling and crackdown on the dubious elements.
At some point legislation was scrapped and we see what we have today; porcupine, capybara, raccoons and many more species being bred and sold and all via "secure mobile phone apps" -anything to hide? Raccoons and capybara have been in the wild in the UK for at least a century so they are nothing new but the species being bred, sold with little or no checks and certainly no follow up "how are you getting along with it?" calls. It's money in hand and then run.
Wildside Exotic Rescue is a private sanctuary for wild captive animals traded and kept as pets, that rescues and rehabilitates those in need and inspires humans to end the wild pet trade. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555018177054
WildSide is home to 189 animals from Meerkat to Mountain Lion."This Coati was living his life out in a parrot cage on the floor in a lounge. He had a red clothed harness on which the owner said he had arrived in and they had never removed it. The only thing in this cage was a water bottle. He had been trapped in this cage for 15 months.
"On getting him home I transferred him to an inspection crate where I could examine his body. Bad sores were visible at the edges of the harness. Straight to vets where he was sedated so we could do a full unimpeded examination and safely remove the harness. The harness had caused serious rubbing wounds and then as the animal had grown the harness had grown into the wound. The pain must have been unbearable. Recovery was slow but on pain relief and without the rubbing the Coati rapidly perked up. He is now living out his life with two other Coatis and the three males are active, high energy and love eggs.
"The owner was not intentionally cruel, just like many we take animals off, did not understand or see what they were doing. Some even tell us that they love and will miss their animal, an animal that has and is suffering. People acquire wild animals often with false reassurances from breeders at how simple it will be, do no homework or preparation and the animal suffers.
"So I think the systems have to change to make it hard for people to own a wild animal as no legislation or license in the world will offer these animals true protection once inside a home or garden."
Monday, 11 March 2024
So Why Is There No Interest?
There seems to be this odd belief that "You've written books you must be rich!" Those people have obviously never worked in publishing or been an author. The senior editors and the publishers are the ones making the money in the big companies. If you are an independent publisher like Black Tower Books... no one gets rich. The whole reason I got into self publishing was because mainstream publishers were not interested in books that did not follow the accepted norm which is that every single government is covering something up and you need to put that into your books even if untrue. The ones after money tend to follow that advice. I could not in all conscience tell a pack of lies just to make money and three previous books were "loved" by commissioning editors but all came back with the same thing "Controversy is needed. Government cover-ups!" I responded that there were none and was told "make it up!" But if I made that up and anyone with a brain looked into it then everything I had written would be seen as potentially false. The editors dropped the books!
One did have two people re-write what I had submitted and made it 'their original' work.
With the wildlife books I knew there would be problems. The late Sir David Bellamy described the original (2010) Red Paper: Canids as "explosive for British wildlife history" and some other lifelong naturalists were of a similar opinion. So why would no publisher handle the 2010 or the two 2022 volumes?
First there is the fact that a lot of publishing houses have directors that are in with the horsey countryside set and may even partake of a little fox hunting themselves. An editor commissions my book showing the history of hunting and what it has done is going to be terrified of losing his/her job. One even hinted at that as the reason why the manuscript he "loved; very detailed research" was rejected.
The other is quite obvious. Publishers have been churning out wildlife books that have been literally copying and pasting from others since the early 1900s (it was also going on in the late 19th century). Most of the information on foxes, for instance, come from the very biased old naturalist/'sportsmen' and they would often argue about facts. You really got information from the ones who shouted loudest.
For instance; the idea of a white fox was ridiculed by many fox hunters and some were shocked when they saw one and reported on it -then became ridiculed themselves. The "average life span of a fox is five years at most" is a nonsense. That would be the average life span of a fox in hunting territory.
Another instance; by the 1960s and after "naturalists" and zoologists were making fun of the mountain fox stories -they had never seen any other than the occasional large red fox. This showed how little research these people had carried out because they could not have seen a Mountain/Greyhound fox as they became extinct in the 1860s. There are, however, taxidermies of such Old foxes. The continued claim that the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the fox we have always had in the British isles again shows lack of even basic knowledge. We know that at least 2000 a year were imported into the UK for hunting and we know where they were imported to.
Is a publisher who has been churning out books with the same old dogma for decades going to turn around and accept a book (s) that show this? Experts will not come out and say it but strongly hint that today's Scottish wild cat is not a pure one. In fact, Scottish zoologists in 1898 held conference at which the top man who had studied wild cats for over 40 years (no, not me) declared -and it was a declaration officially accepted- that the Scottish wild cat had become extinct circa the 1860s for basically the same reason the Old foxes did. There is a lot of investment and money in wild cat "rewilding" and a lot of books on wild cats and those would face the same dismantling as the books on foxes.
The other bigger problem is that people do not care. Back in 2010 I offered free copies of The Red Paper to anti-hunt groups as it had every counter argument that could ever be needed. No takers. No interest. I then let social media fox groups know about the book and its contents and...no takers. No interest. Similar when the 2022 books came out.
There is another problem and that is the dilettante 'wildlife expert'. These are all over social media and basically troll on any subject that is posted and I have often asked why they are on these groups as that is their only 'contribution'. One said that he had no intention of buying my book unless I explained what was in it and what my conclusions were for my "theory". First, if something is based on historical documentation and statements then it is not a "theory". Second; outline all I had found out and give my conclusions...the whole point of the book was so that those interested could peer review everything as it is thoroughly referenced and no one gives out that type of information. Someone says they will not buy my detective crime thriller unless I tell them the full plot and "who did it"?? These people I have come across so many times over the years and the fact is that they would not buy the book in any case.
The idiot at the museum who would not cooperate because he had heard of no such thing as old foxes and he has researched red foxes for 30 years. I was not asking him for anything but to check the museum fox specimens (which apparently were stored "right behind me") for certain characteristics. In one fell swoop he became the poster child for stuffed shirt and non-inquiring 'expert'. He wanted to know what my work had found, etc., etc. and I learnt a long time ago that academics whether at universities or museums will steal your work.
And the reading public? I doubt there are many left as all their 'facts' come from You Tube and other online sources including Tik-tok. People are just not interested in the fact that original foxes and wolves and wild cats and some deer, hares and a lot more species were wiped out and what we see today are not even the original wildlife but imports. They do not care that even wildlife bodies have called for red foxes to be Red Listed as endangered or that there are set plans by the UK government to make badgers extinct. Why would they go through the manual labour of holding a book and, heavens preserve them, reading all those words?!
So, no. Having a reputation as a "noted naturalist" does not sell books. The 2022 Red Papers have sold zero copies despite all the publicity I've pushed out. I think two of my papers have sold. That is the reality of publishing and wildlife work; no one cares.
The Red Paper 2022 Volume II: Wild Cats, Feral and New Native Species
In 1896 Scottish naturalists and zoologists declared that the true Scottish wild cat had become extinct by the 1860s. What we see today is nothing more than a wild tabby cat. In this work the true history and destruction of wild cats from England, Wales (where hybrids clung on into the 1940s) and Scotland is explored and after decades of research the true look of the wild cat is revealed. The "English Tiger" and "Highland Tiger" truly lived up to that name.
Dogma is finally thrown out.
There is also a look at the "New Native Cats" ranging from Asian Golden Cats, Lynx, Puma and others and the evidence leading to their being so designated.
No silly press or media stories just solid facts backed up by evidence.
The author acted as an exotic species wildlife consultant to UK police forces from 1977-2015 as well as cooperated with university projects on the subject.
Island cats as well as feral cats their lifestyles and problems mare also covered .
Fully referenced and including maps, illustrations and very rare photographs -some never before seen in print- make this a book for amateur naturalists and zoologists.
The Red Paper 2022 Volume I: Foxes, Jackals, Wolves, Coyotes and Wild Dogs of the United Kingdom and Ireland
When the Doggerland bridge flooded the British Isles became separated from
Continental Europe and its wildlife developed uniquely. The British Isles, for the purpose of this work includes Ireland, and isolated the wolves on both became what would be island species not affected by the usual island dwarfism. These wolves, after millennia. Became “unwanted” and forests and woodland was burnt down or cut down for the specific purpose of lupicide; the killing of every and any wolf –and there was a bounty for “a job well done”.
At the same time there also developed three unique island species of Old fox from the coyote-like Mountain or Greyhound fox, the slightly smaller but robustly built Mastiff or Bulldog fox and the smaller Common or Cur fox –the latter like today’s red foxes had a symbiotic relationship with humans.
These canids were mainly ignored until it was decided that they could provide fur and meat and those things earn money. From that point onward, especially after all other game had been killed off, the fox faced what writers over the centuries referred to as vulpicide –extermination through bounties paid, trapping or hunting and despite all the hunters noting that the Old foxes were nearing extinction they continued to hunt until by the late 1880s the Old were gone and replaced by the New –foxes imported by the thousands every year for the ‘sport’ of fox hunting and this importation also led the the UK seeing the appearance of mange (unknown before the importations).
The travelling British sportsmen went coyote, wolf and jackal hunting and on returning to England wanted to bring a taste of this to “the good old country”. Wolves, jackals and coyotes were set up in hunting territories from where they could learn the lay of the land and provide good sport later. Some hunts even attempted to cross-breed foxes, jackals and Coyotes.
Then there were the legendary –almost mythical– “beasts”; the black beast of Edale, the killer canids of Cavan and the “girt dog” of Ennerdale.
In more recent times raccoon dogs and arctic foxes have appeared in the UK; some released for ‘sport’ while others are exotic escapees long since established in the countryside.
The Current Threat To UK Fauna And The Introduction Of New Fauna Species -a look inside
In the United Kingdom new species of fauna have been introduced since Roman times and the number of species released or escaping into the countryside since 1900 has steadily increased. New species are filling in niches left by species extirpated by humans and these new species have, after 40+ years of observation created no problems.
Despite this the official policy of the UK Government and the Department for Environment Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is to class such species "invasive" and trap and kill them as the opportunity arises.
This paper suggests that DEFRA needs to reassess its stance since it is impossible to exterminate all established "invasive species" -the New fauna now closely tied to the Old fauna,
Did The Lynx Survive Until The 18th Century In The UK?
£11.00
For many the lynx (Lynx lynx) died out during the last ice age in Britain. However, the historical evidence shows that it continued until hunted to extinction during the Medieval period.
Over recent years many have claimed that the lynx in fact survived up to the 18th century -some state it survived later than that.
In this publication naturalist Terry Hooper-Scharf assesses the evidence and points to reports and other factors not widely known to draw a definitive conclusion on the subject
The "Girt Dog" of Ennerdale: Hyena, Thylacine or Escaped Exotic Cat -A Naturalist's Assessment of the Evidence
A4
B&W
42pp
Illustrated
£10.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-girt-dog-of-ennerdale/paperback/product-1dzqgy79.html
Over 200 years ago, in 1810, sheep were being killed in the Ennerdale area of Cumbria.
The sheep were allegedly hardly eaten yet their blood had been drained and the killer responsible thwarted the efforts of organised hunts and terrified hounds. What was the “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale?
Many theories abound from a paranormal creature called a “Mauler” to an escaped hyena , Tiger or even a Thylacine. Perhaps an unknown species of native British big cat?
The truth of what the “Girt Dog” was lies within the original accounts of the time. Documents that modern writers appear to have never consulted. Noted British naturalist Terry Hooper-Scharf assesses the evidence.
Tuesday, 5 March 2024
Terry Hooper
Born Bristol, England June 1957
Naturalist and author set up the Fox Study in 1976 which later became The British Fox and Canid Study which still continues work on current foxes as well as long British fox types. The Fox Deaths Project is focused on the City and county of Bristol and has been yielding unexpected information on disease, etc. Hair gathering from foxes around the UK is taking place to hopefully submit for a DNA analysis project.
Specialising in wild canids and felids, Terry has looked at existing, threatened or extant species particularly from Japan and Hong Kong and the work has been incorporated into The British Fox and Canid Study. He is also credited as observing the first raccoon dogs in Lippe in the 1970s.
In 2021 the British Canid Historical Society was set up to look at various aspects of foxes.
From 1977 until (officially) 2016 Terry was an exotic species consultant specialising in felids and advising UK police forces via the Exotic Animals Register (EAR) as part of the Partnership Againgst Wildlife crimes. During this time he contributed to various technical papers and helped University of Wales Swansea and its Exotic Cat Group which presented findings to the Eastern Cougar Foundation Conference on the evidence regarding large ‘exotic’ cats in the UK.
Papers and Books
1. A Method For Grading Sightings Of Non-Native Cats: Application to South and West Wales, UK: Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register.
Proceedings of the 2nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004
2. Exotic Cats In Britain: An Historical Perspective, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register, Proceedings of the 2nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004
3. (Contributor) Survey effort and Sighting Probabilities for Non-Native Cats in Carmarthenshire, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea, Swansea Geographer 2004 vol. 39
4. The Biography of Perceived Encounters with Pumas and Other Exotic Cats in South and West Wales, UK; Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register. 2004
5. Felids: Wildcats, Ferals and Hybrids, Terry Hooper-Scharf. Vale Wildlife Group, 2000
6. UK National Wolverine Population and Evidence, Terry Hooper-Scharf, Vale Wildlife Group, November 2000
7. The Red Paper: Foxes, Fox-Domestic Dog, Hybrids, Arctic Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Coyotes: An Extensive Study of Vulpes vulpes in the United Kingdom and Releases/Escapes of Non-Native Canids; Terry Hooper-Scharf. Black Tower Books, 2011
8. The “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale: Hyena, Thylacine or Escaped Exotic Cat: A Naturalist’s Assessment of the Evidence. Terry Hooper-Scharf. Black Tower Books, 2018
9. The Red Paper: Canids (2010)
10. The Red Paper 2022: Volume 1 Canids
11. The Red Paper 2022: Volume II Felids
12. The Current Threat To UK Fauna And The Introduction Of New Fauna Species April, 2022
13. Did The Lynx Survive Until The 18th Century In The UK? May 2023
14. The Scientific Need For DNA Testing Of Old Wild Cat and Old Fox Specimens February 2024
15. The Extirpation of Wild Cats and Introduction of New Wild Cats To Britain March 2024
Various other unlisted papers and articles 2000-2024
Terry also applied his knowledge of the natural world to look at subjects ranging from gorillas and other primates as well as 18th -19th centuries mysterious predators in France, the UK and Ireland.
Saturday, 2 March 2024
Dead 'Big Cat' On The Side of the Road?
Let me make this very clear. I have seen MANY photographs of dead foxes at the roadside. This time of year they are reported almost daily. The animal in the photo (not the fake on the documentary got caught out with) is a fox. Body and head shape and ears. A FOX.,
So while this is hailed by the loony fringe as a big cat we know it is a fox.
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/woman-spots-dead-puma-on-side-of-road-161205461.html
A motorist thinks she may have spotted a dead big cat while driving on a busy road in Chester.
Courtney Roberts, 21, was travelling on the A483 on the outskirts of the city last week when she saw the dead animal lying in a central reservation. She later shared her footage with experts and was told it was thought to be the body of a puma, otherwise commonly referred to as a ‘mountain lion’ or ‘cougar.’
Experts said the big cat, usually native to the Americas, has been sighted in the wild in Britain since the 1960s and 1970s when they were popular to keep as pets. Roberts, from Wrexham, said: "You see so many strange looking animals on the side of the road over here. I had to put my phone on record and point it down to the road, unfortunately it isn’t as clear as I’d like it to be.
"Looking at that picture it does look like a bobcat. My partner was just looking and he saw a Scottish wildcat on Google and I think it looks like one of them but …. in person you can see a spotted pattern on its coat."
She posted the photos on a Facebook group for lost pets, where it was seen by a network of nationwide big cat researchers who then picked up the case. Roberts also decided to return to the location with her partner to try to identify the animal or possibly even recover the body. However, when she went back an hour later, the animal had vanished.
Roberts added: "I’ve just gone on to the bypass with my partner and pulled over, and we stopped exactly where I saw the animal, and now there is no animal there. So I think someone has seen my post and gone to take it.
According to Canadian wildlife expert Jason Kenzie, who has worked extensively with exotic cats, the animal is most likely a juvenile puma. He said: “It looks feline, but I believe it’s too large to be a Scottish wildcat. It could be a Bobcat or Lynx, but really this has the markings of a young cougar.”
Tim Whittard, who produced a documentary about Britain’s mystery big cats called Panthera Britannia Declassified, agreed with the puma theory. He added: "This wouldn’t be the first time the body of a big cat has been seen road-killed in Britain. This is the fourth report I’m aware of in less than three months, and there are several high profile cases of similar incidents.”
Big cat sightings
Last year, documentary maker Whittard and his Dragonfly Films team discovered what they claimed was the "clearest ever" photo of a big cat stalking the British countryside. The picture, which shows a large muscular panther-like creature lying in long grass, was found in the files of a zoology organisation.
Experts said if the image was genuine, it was "probably the best photo of a British big cat that exists". The photo, which is said to have been taken in Smallthorne, Staffordshire, was accompanied by a handwritten note dated 17 March – but it is unclear in which year it was taken.
A wave of "black beast" sightings were reported during the late 1990s, including famous cases in Herefordshire such as the "Woolhope Wildcat" in 1994 and numerous reports of the "Herefordshire Phantom Feline", also known as "Big Puss", from 1996 to 2000.
A photo of an alleged big cat taken in July 2016 in Gloucestershire was compared in news reports with a photo of a fox in the same location, but was later confirmed again to be the size of a domestic cat, while out-of-focus footage of an animal identified as a lynx reported in November 2016 was also found to be an ordinary cat. In May 2022, a father and son spotted a big cat as they set up a barbecue on the beach at Pwllheli on the Lyn Peninsula in northwest Wales – the second reported sighting within 12 months.
************************it's a fox ******************************
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Dad on school run snaps 'massive' big cat 'size of a jaguar' in woods behind playground -or does he?
My first thought was that this was a silly story and after a lot of consideration I decided it definitely WAS a silly story. A dad drops h...
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The following from an exotic rescue is indicative of a problem we face today with kitchen-sink exotic animal breeders. Back up to the late... -
I have since 1976 struggled when it comes to getting any type of cooperation on the fox Study. Generally, academic institutions and, of cour... -
I was alerted to this post fairly quickly on Sunday (30th March) by my colleague, LM. Before this got on to any of the British 'big cat...