Corvid cull looming

Nature works on a system that does not seem to apply to the SoS - it's called balance

as the population of prey species increase the system can support more predatory species, which also increase in numbers. if the predators population increases too much then there is not enough  prey species and the predator species will also drop back

one reason for the increase in corvid population may well be the recent trend to feed garden birds during the breeding season and to use suitable feed materials, this results in a higher survival rate in the prey species which nature reacts to with an increase in predators 

Dulaich said:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/media/p/216030.aspx

Well, there will be no culls, now or in the future, on my land.

I'm glad to hear it! I love the photo of Magic! Thank you for looking after him :) A corvid companion enriches your life in an unimaginable way.

barman58 said:

one reason for the increase in corvid population may well be the recent trend to feed garden birds during the breeding season and to use suitable feed materials, this results in a higher survival rate in the prey species which nature reacts to with an increase in predators 

Not to mention our rubbish!

barman58 said:

Nature works on a system that does not seem to apply to the SoS - it's called balance

as the population of prey species increase the system can support more predatory species, which also increase in numbers. if the predators population increases too much then there is not enough  prey species and the predator species will also drop back

one reason for the increase in corvid population may well be the recent trend to feed garden birds during the breeding season and to use suitable feed materials, this results in a higher survival rate in the prey species which nature reacts to with an increase in predators 

Much more likely all the road kills that they take advantage of so, this so called balance is useless once man or woman interferes and today that just about means everything,need to get back to caveman then I might go along with that argument.

Always find it a bit strange that lots of people against culling such as magpies yet quite happily buy mealworms and feed them,suppose one species more valuable than another,strange I cannot see how mealworms hurt anyone and lots of alternatives for bird feeding,perhaps entirely different if no alternatives.     

Who are these people,????   Cat owners per chance????????????

What next - when will people learn to leave nature to live as it should - badgers, then Crows, then whatever else to become scapegoats for another reason!!!

Corvids have been victims in the past - remember when farmers would hang them by the scruff of the neck on their fences to show the world that they hated Crows - I felt sad for the Crows.

Crows get a bad press, and hearing the media hype up this whole situation is not a good omen either.

Hope this whole senario blows over - the sooner the better

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Susan said:

Who are these people,????   Cat owners per chance????????????

And just in case anyone is wondering about legality - This from NaturalEngland

 Q. I heard that there is a campaign calling on people to shoot magpies to protect song-birds. Is this allowed?

 A.  Magpies may be trapped and killed under General Licences for specific purposes, such as conservation of wild birds, but anyone relying on a General Licence does need to be familiar with the terms and conditions of the licence to ensure they are operating within the law. The intention of General Licences is to enable people to deal with specific problems, and not to facilitate wider endeavours of this type.

So there you have it. The general licence provision does not apply in cases where some foetid "interest group" just fancies blasting corvids indiscriminately over a wide area.  It cannot be justified on wildlife conservation grounds as there is no evidence that the existence of corvids in the countryside is a genuine threat to wildlife.

Another link which I think explains a bit more,

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Feathers-fly-as-conservationists-.6704658.jp

Unknown said:

Another link which I think explains a bit more,

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Feathers-fly-as-conservationists-.6704658.jp

From that article - "We are looking at controlling 20-30 crow species."

Er what???  I hope that is a misprint and they added a zero to both numbers!

If it is a good feeding area more corvids will simply move in from the surrounding area - not to mention it is inhumane to cull in the breeding season and leave chicks to starve in the nest.  Sometimes I think SBS think that the birds are just sitting around waiting to be gobbled up by predators - if predation rates are high then they must be something behind that.  If nests are often raided I would question as to whether the habitat the birds are nesting in is actually suitable.  One study did look at predation rates in hedging that was cut back to different levels, not surprisingly the thicker the hedging the better for the survival rate of the chicks because it makes it more difficult for the nests to be robbed (by corvids anyway).  Also, it is already known than insects are in decline, and if that is the case then that means there is less for birds and therefore is is probably a fair assumption than more time then has to be spent foraging.  The more accessible food is, the more time the birds have to spend at their nests and the more likely they will be able to see off a predator by mobbing than if they have to spend more time searching for food.  However, I wouldn't waste my breath trying to explain this to the supporters of SBS, I'd be better off talking to a brick wall!  Their own STUDY indicated that predators were having minimal impact on songbirds, and they are ignoring one of their own studies and pressing ahead with a cull that is sentencing chicks to starve to death.  They won't stop until they get a study with shows the results they want to see, which is a bad way to go about things...