‘It’s foxes, not badgers’ says study into lamb predation

A farmer who has camera footage of badgers attacking his sheep has disputed the findings of research that suggests it is foxes that are largely to blame for predation in Scottish flocks.

Robbie Wilson runs a flock of 1,400 pedigree Texels in Aberdeenshire, and has witnessed badgers attacking cast ewes and stripping the carcasses of dead lambs bare.

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“I have cameras all around the farm and these have clearly shown badgers among the sheep,” he said.

“We lamb everything inside, but if we have a dead sheep in the night, the carcass will be stripped bare by the morning, and we have seen badgers ripping the back end of ewes on their backs.”

Mr Wilson’s comments come as the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) publishes research that points to foxes being the most likely perpetrator of lamb attacks on Scottish farms.

Robbie Wilson © NFU Scotland

Research 

The study, which set out to assess the role of badgers in lamb predation, was led by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, in partnership with NatureScot, the National Farmers Union of Scotland, and Scottish Land and Estates, and supported by the RVC.

27 Scottish farms that suspected they had previously lost lambs to badger predation volunteered to take part.

Post-mortem examinations were facilitated by the RVC, and DNA analysis was conducted to identify what species had been in contact with the carcasses.

The RVC said the findings revealed that predation was confirmed in 48% of lambs, while 31% were found to be scavenged after death. Predation “could not be ruled out” for the remaining 21%.

Fox DNA was present on 87% of the lambs, including on all the lambs that showed evidence of predation.

Badger DNA was detected on 5% of lambs, but there was none on lambs where predation was confirmed.

Evidence

Henny Martineau, head of veterinary forensic pathology at the RVC, said the research provided vital evidence to “ease concerns” that badgers are the main culprit of lamb attacks.

But Mr Wilson, who runs Milnbank Texels at Turriff, said these findings don’t reflect his own experience.

“We have no problem with foxes here, but we have a serious problem with badgers,” he said.