Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Beavers in Devon

Be very careful if you are visiting Lifton in Devon in the New Year. A local farmer, Mr Derek Gow is going to lay the most infernal of temptations in the path of every sweet toothed male in the land. He wants to catch a male 'on the loose'. The BBC warns us that he's been setting 'Honey traps' that have the scent of a female beaver. Last time I heard of a honey trap being used was when I was a teenager, with a big interest in boxing. A new loud-mouthed young heavyweight named Cassius Clay was carrying a big honey trap about his person, seeking to catch the World Champion, Sonny Liston, whom he referred to the 'Big Ugly Bear'. No-one gave Clay a chance of winning - but he did when the 'Bear' failed to emerge from his corner for round 8. It was one of the biggest shocks in boxing history, and launched the incredible career of the man who became Mohammad Ali. Anyway, back in Devon, it seems that an escapee male beaver, weighing in at about six stone, is wreaking havoc in the area, cutting down trees and making a thorough nuisance of himself. Strikes me there could be potential for this form of hunting as a popular country sport - without the controversy involved in fox hunting.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Strikes me there could be potential for this form of hunting as a popular country sport - without the controversy involved in fox hunting."

I really hope you are joking - you are such a typical blood thirsty farmer - why don't you just kill all the wildlife while you're at it?

Glyn Davies said...

Anon - I'm not blood thirsty at all. I'm such a wimp that I've not killed a living creature since I was in my twenties. I'm actually a wimp.

I think you're comment is funnier than my post. I do think there's a case for developing hunting wild boar on horseback though.

Final point I'll make is that no group of people do more to benefit wildlife than those who want to hunt.

Anonymous said...

Well Glyn> please don't get into the habit of killing cockroaches or household flies, lest not before checking if such creatures have a first name beginning and ending respectively with "L" and "T". Actually, I'm kind of taken with the guy, clearly he has something going for him - just look at the quality of the ladies that have been spell bund by him.

Glyn Davies said...

H-man has reminded me that I have killed living creatures recently. Wasps, flies and mice have been despatched. I like to keep this blog honest.