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Badger Forteana

Perhaps they're the result of one of Saddam's secret weapons programmes. He knew that no-one would expect Badgers of Mass Destruction.
 
I'm disappointed these, huh, so-called "giant" badgers aren't at least the size of a car.
 
I want to see these giant badgers go up against the giant scorpions Saddam was meant to have guarding his palaces.
 
I bet it's all a viral marketing campaign for the new summer blockbuster "Badgers on a Bus".
 
Local farmers have caught and killed several of the beasts, but this has done nothing to dispel the rumour.
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Er, so in other words there ARE giant badgers in which case the rumour is true? :confused:
 
There doesn't seem to be any dispute about the presence of badgers, but 'giant' or 'man-eating' haven't yet been proven.

I love the idea of blaming on the Brits though.
 
mindalai said:
Even a giant scorpion?
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Easy! These are British Military Badgers probably trained by the SAS. You don't mess with these critters.
 
......and in a bizarre twist of synchronicity, the comedy website Newsbiscuit posted the following spoof item on 20th June:

British badgers will be sent to serve with UK forces in Iraq under plans unveiled jointly by the Ministry of Defence and DEFRA today.

For some time Britain has been seeking a credible exit strategy that would allow troops to return home without accusations that the British government was abandoning the war-torn region. It is hoped that a token presence of British nocturnal carnivores would go some way towards countering allegations of ‘cut and run’, while simultaneously mollifying UK farmers demand for action against badgers back at home.

‘British badgers will play their part in supporting American and Iraqi forces in establishing the fragile democracy in Baghdad’ said an government spokesman yesterday. ‘As we are now handing over control of the country to the Iraqi people, the badgers duties will not extend to flying reconnaissance missions, driving armoured vehicles or guarding key installations. Their role will be more focused on scurrying around at night snuffling out worms and stag beetles.’

Animal rights protestors immediately accused the government of caving in to farmers’ demands for a badger cull, which the dairy industry says is needed to prevent the spread on TB in cattle. ‘This is just a cull by the back door,’ said a tearful Annette Crowley founder of Badger-Watch UK. The furry stripy-nosed badgers are not being given a choice about this tour of duty and no date has been set for the badger’s return.’

However government polling has established the badgers would not be particularly missed, with 93% of Britons never actually having seen a badger except squashed ones on the road.

DEFRA had previously dismissed an offer from the Countryside Alliance to hunt the badgers if they were dressed up in little fox costumes.
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http://newsbiscuit.com/article/badgers- ... o-iraq-134
 
Fats_Tuesday said:
......and in a bizarre twist of synchronicity, the comedy website Newsbiscuit posted the following spoof item on 20th June:

British badgers will be sent to serve with UK forces in Iraq under plans unveiled jointly by the Ministry of Defence and DEFRA today.

For some time Britain has been seeking a credible exit strategy that would allow troops to return home without accusations that the British government was abandoning the war-torn region. It is hoped that a token presence of British nocturnal carnivores would go some way towards countering allegations of ‘cut and run’, while simultaneously mollifying UK farmers demand for action against badgers back at home.

‘British badgers will play their part in supporting American and Iraqi forces in establishing the fragile democracy in Baghdad’ said an government spokesman yesterday. ‘As we are now handing over control of the country to the Iraqi people, the badgers duties will not extend to flying reconnaissance missions, driving armoured vehicles or guarding key installations. Their role will be more focused on scurrying around at night snuffling out worms and stag beetles.’

Animal rights protestors immediately accused the government of caving in to farmers’ demands for a badger cull, which the dairy industry says is needed to prevent the spread on TB in cattle. ‘This is just a cull by the back door,’ said a tearful Annette Crowley founder of Badger-Watch UK. The furry stripy-nosed badgers are not being given a choice about this tour of duty and no date has been set for the badger’s return.’

However government polling has established the badgers would not be particularly missed, with 93% of Britons never actually having seen a badger except squashed ones on the road.

DEFRA had previously dismissed an offer from the Countryside Alliance to hunt the badgers if they were dressed up in little fox costumes.
Click to expand...

http://newsbiscuit.com/article/badgers- ... o-iraq-134
Click to expand...

Is it possible that this started the rumor? Someone who didn't know their stuff caught wind of it and started to spread rumors about it...
 
The other day I read a claim that many of the dead badgers you see on road verges and in the carriageway were in fact killed during illegal badger baiting sessions. The gangs supposedly dump them on roads to cover up the true cause of death.

Strikes me as a rather far fetched claim, because surely it would be easier just to bury them! :roll:




www.mysteriousmiltonkeynes.com
 
My folk are country types, both children of farmers and my dad worked in a country type occupation. They live in the middle of nowhere.
According to them many badgers have been shot or trapped due to the supposed link between bovine TB and badgers.
They are dumped on the road as a sure fire way to destroy the evidence, Bury them on your land and you are as good as admitting guilt, hide them in plain sight on the road and there is nothing to link you to the animal.
 
I've not heard that. Where I lived in Somerset badgers would run up and down the roads at night, even through town. It doesn't seem so odd that a good number would get squashed.
I would have thought the risk of getting caught transporting an illegally killed badger to a road to dump it would outweigh the risk of it being found hidden on private land.
 
I doubt they'd be dumped there after badger baiting. The animals get torn apart during that 'sport', so the body would have lots of bites/injuries and be covered in blood. When struck by a vehicle there's usually little damage because they don't tend to get squished under the tyres, they get struck by the metal of the body and knocked away/under the vehicle.

Poisoning on the other hand I can see it working with though. After all, what's a little blood or foam around the mouth of an animal that got hit by a car? Not unusual...
 
I've been saying this for years. Badgers dumped at the roadside to make it look like an accident. At first I was only half serious but noticed on the country roads around here that bits of cloth or cushions could be found further along the road, leading me to think they also dropped the wrappings too.

I mentioned this to a work colleague who came back later and said he had a mate who was a bit 'farmy' and it's true.

So why?

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992

http://badgerland.co.uk/animals/legal/legal1992.html
 
I've heard it too - but I'm not sure I buy it. The basic reason being that it very clearly breaks the optimum risk rule of criminal activity: you can always deny having anything to do with a dead badger, even if it's on your land - you cannot deny having anything to do with a dead badger if you're caught with one in the back of your car.
 
Spookdaddy said:
I've heard it too - but I'm not sure I buy it. The basic reason being that it very clearly breaks the optimum risk rule of criminal activity: you can always deny having anything to do with a dead badger, even if it's on your land - you cannot deny having anything to do with a dead badger if you're caught with one in the back of your car.
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If this were true, there'd probably be a lot less crime in general. There's no denying we hear a lot of stories about stupid criminals.
 
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