the daydream fund challenge thread

alfie_1

iv actually just spoken to someone who has some and theyve said that they need to be vaccinated to go by official shipper, doubt theyve had these ? but if they have its ok. if they havnt its either a long drive or not at all !
iv a friend who has hotels on the west coast of scotland, where abouts are you?[not sat nav but just area ]
im thinking if it is poss, i could go up on plane [cheap] and rent car for return journey via a stay in one of the hotels....
all for racoons !!!
p.s. any other unusual animals on his list??

rhiwfield

Raccoons? :eek:

Cant say I'm a believer in keeping exotic animals, no matter how well intentioned. Inevitably some escape. Thanks to the fur trade and animal rights activists we have the american mink eating its way through the small animal population of the UK. The raccoon might be pretty destructive too.

LINK

alfie_1

rhiwfield wrote: »

Raccoons? :eek:

Cant say I'm a believer in keeping exotic animals, no matter how well intentioned. Inevitably some escape. Thanks to the fur trade and animal rights activists we have the american mink eating its way through the small animal population of the UK. The raccoon might be pretty destructive too.

LINK

i quite agree... if they are in the wrong hands. i have taken in animals for 30 years and always do my homework if unusual. even i have my limits!! what worries me is when people are "getting rid" in a hurry that they go to the WRONG homes and i dont see why an animal should be PUT DOWN through no fault of its own. if i can securely accomodate them [any animal] and give them the best quality of life i can then i do ! i am fortunate that i have the time, space and ability to take in these animals.
otherwise they will end up either as you so rightly said, causing havoc ,neglected or on the front of a "help" poster.

choille

Hi Alfie - The racoons are away.

The couple that split used to rescue animals. Some of the animals were very elderly & to be perfectly honest no one will take them - although someone has taken an elderly flock of sheep locally. And I've offered to take a few of some elderly scot's hens - dumpies.

It's all rather desperate.
I actually fear for the guy.
We used to go in together - with getting hay in & injecting - gathering & at lambing. I am a bit lost & it is a blow.

They had a menagerie & it must of cost a lot to feed them all but it all got a bit too much. I have offered to take a few hens but I think the majority of his stuff are going to a sanctuary - which will load them up - the sanctuary.
All the wild stuff - owls, otters, even a buzzard have been relased as they were ready.

There is mink here too - well not here, nearer Ullapool.

Well it's incredibly cold & the water's frozen & gas - which is to be expected - happened last year & the one before.
-15 degrees at Glascarrnoch last night we hear.
The new hens were all in the wrong houses last night - quite funny & Caligula seems rather put out this morning.

Davesnave

rhiwfield wrote: »

Raccoons? :eek:
Thanks to the fur trade and animal rights activists we have the american mink eating its way through the small animal population of the UK.

A property in Mid-Wales appealed to me, as it had about 500m of fishing on a lovely small river, but when I walked it, there seemed to be a distinct lack of fish.

Talking to the owner, he explained that the fishing was let (at £40 p.a.)to a local caravan site, 'so that their English visitors can do a spot of fishing.' He then went on to add, with a chuckle, that he hadn't seen anything landed in years.

I did some research and found a reference from the inter-War period to the 'hundreds of brown trout' in this river, a mile or so upstream. As there was no obvious source of pollution, and as the land didn't look intensively farmed, I could only conclude that escaped mink had been responsible for the depletion of these stocks, all in the space of a generation. There was probably a knock-on effect for the local otters too.

Rummer

It has been snowing quite a bit here and it has just started again, so much for my plan to gather leaves this weekend for mulching! My Oh starts a new job tomorrow and I think he is dreading the journey in the snow.

In town yesterday I got a whole pile of leggings and snuggly jumpers to keep me warm until the heating is fixed and to go with my thermal boots when they arrive. My hubby has said that I am going to look like a mugger in my balaclava and headlamp sneaking about the garden feeding the animals. JUst trying to convince myself that going out to get their hay would be a good idea!

Rummer

Davesnave wrote: »

I did some research and found a reference from the inter-War period to the 'hundreds of brown trout' in this river, a mile or so upstream. As there was no obvious source of pollution, and as the land didn't look intensively farmed, I could only conclude that escaped mink had been responsible for the depletion of these stocks, all in the space of a generation. There was probably a knock-on effect for the local otters too.

I took part in a project to repopulate a local river with trout and it was quite effective and the numbers are gradually increasing independent of the projects support.

Davesnave

It's a glorious morning here..... now.:)

I've been around and smashed the ice on the sheep troughs, pulled out some hay for them and checked they are all present & correct. Both they and the hens had frost on their backs an hour or two ago, but now it's reasonably comfortable.....for a few hours at least.

Half an hour ago, two sparrows were having a wonderful splash in the bird bath outside the kitchen window. Since then, it's iced-over again. I'm going to move it into a sunnier spot for them.

rhiwfield

alfie_1 wrote: »

i quite agree... if they are in the wrong hands. i have taken in animals for 30 years and always do my homework if unusual. even i have my limits!! what worries me is when people are "getting rid" in a hurry that they go to the WRONG homes and i dont see why an animal should be PUT DOWN through no fault of its own. if i can securely accomodate them [any animal] and give them the best quality of life i can then i do ! i am fortunate that i have the time, space and ability to take in these animals.
otherwise they will end up either as you so rightly said, causing havoc ,neglected or on the front of a "help" poster.

Alfie, we're all different and I wasnt having a go at you, though I would strongly disagree with the original importer. Once they are here, that creates the problem of what to do with them.

Non native invasive species are often harmful to native species, outperforming them or carrying disease. So we end up with plants like Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam. And grey squirrels and signal crayfish. Mink locally are almost certainly responsible for our county extinction of the water vole and play havoc with waterfowl. All over the world misguided people have introduced non native plants and animals, often with disastrous effects, like the kudzu vine and the cane toad.

And the problem with secure containment is that there is no such thing. From Chernobyl (nuclear radiation) to Pirbright (Foot and Mouth), we prove time and time again that there is no 100% effective containment. When failure to contain non-native species can destroy ecosystems and make other species extinct, I would have no compunction at humanely killing a threat-carrying breeding pair or disease carrier.

rhiwfield

Davesnave wrote: »

There was probably a knock-on effect for the local otters too.

Davesnave, there has been research work (Wildcru) that suggests that where otters have seen their population recover, mink signs have significantly reduced. So the very good news is that full recovery of the otter population would appear to mitigate the worst effects of mink predation