An Oxford-led academic study has claimed a staggering 260,000 animals are killed in Scotland every year to protect the grouse population for shooting on country estates. They said the practice of using traps to cull predators on Scottish moors causes “tremendous, unjustifiable suffering” to creatures and must be fully banned. Animals targeted include foxes, weasels, […]
Tag: Magpies
‘It was terrifying’: swooping magpies alarm world road championship cyclists
There is a sign in Lang Park, near the beach in Wollongong, with a warning for passers-by. “Birds swooping!” it reads. “Dismount and walk your bike through this area. Magpies are nesting in this area.” The organisers of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships, which began on Sunday and run all week, must have missed […]
Three Bear Cubs Have A Blast On A Backyard Hammock
Nature is all around us – even in our backyards. We all get to experience a number of different wildlife visitors to our backyards throughout the year depending on where we live. Personally, where my parents live in California, they see a lot of birds – obviously – and opossums. They also see the occasional […]
Wild birds can be killed to protect game birds in England – new guidance
Some wild birds can be killed in order to protect game birds bred for shooting in England, the government has ruled, in an update to guidance on general shooting licences. General licences give broad permissions to shoot certain species of wild birds to protect livestock, aid conservation, and preserve health and public safety. The new […]
‘The unsung heroes of Australian fauna’: how quolls can help us understand the modern world
All Harry Saddler really wanted to do was to see a quoll in the wild. It was November 2019, and the Melbourne-based author was enjoying a surprise publishing success: his small book, The Eastern Curlew, a telling of the extraordinary migration of Australia’s largest shorebird, had sold through its hardcover print run, opening a new […]
POLL: Should Australian magpie attacks be deterred by killing or relocating them?
When Victorian man James Glindemann sat down just outside his local mall to enjoy his Chinese takeout, he was happily surprised to see a magpie, and greeted the bird: “How are you going?” Magpies are one of Australia’s most intelligent and loved birds, and Glindemann’s reaction is a common one. In 2017, they were voted […]