Badgers not to blame for killing lambs on farms, research suggests

Foxes remain top of the list of animals likely to prey on lambs on Scottish farms following research prompted by a suspicion that badgers were partially to blame for killings.

A study carried out by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) in partnership with NatureScot, the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) and Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) found badgers were not responsible for a single kill in two years.

Farmers from 27 sites across Scotland volunteered to take part in the research after losing lambs to predation and post-mortem examinations were carried out on a total of 29 carcasses over two successive springs.

Predation was confirmed in 48% of lambs, 31% were scavenged after death and predation could not be ruled out for in remaining 21%.

DNA evidence was then taken from the carcasses plus 10 more dead or injured lambs that were swabbed by farmers to identify the species involved.

Fox DNA was found on 34 of the 39 lambs sampled (87%), including all the lambs that showed evidence of predation.

Badger DNA was only detected on the remains of two lambs (5%), however, and not on any of the carcasses put forward for post-mortem examination or where predation was confirmed.

Dog DNA was also found on 12 lambs (31%) but the study suggested this was likely because of direct or indirect contact with farm dogs.

Sheila George, wildlife biologist at SASA, said: “Livestock predation can be particularly distressing for farmers but identifying the predator from field signs can be challenging.

“Combining post-mortem and DNA evidence, we found that puncture wounds around the head, neck and throat, and associated bleeding, were a good indicator that fox predation had occurred.

“Despite the abundance of badgers on the study farms, we did not find DNA evidence that they killed lambs or regularly scavenged carcasses.

“The findings should help inform livestock managers and their predator control plans.”

Donald Fraser, NatureScot’s head of wildlife management, said: “These findings begin to fill an important gap in our knowledge on lamb predation on Scottish farms and demonstrate the value of high-quality science and evidence in improving our understanding of interactions between wildlife and livestock.

“This research is a good example of partnership working to respond to concerns raised by the farming community.

“We will be working closely with NFUS and SLE to provide further advice and guidance to farmers affected by predation to help them prevent losses.”

Peter Douglas, from NFUS, said: “Losing lambs to predators and having adequate control measures in place to deal with predation is important to Scottish sheep farmers and crofters to minimise losses.

“We thank NatureScot and SASA for undertaking this small-scale study and for the farmers and crofters who helped out.

“The rising number of badgers means we need to continue to explore their impact on farming and wildlife.

“The impact of fox predation is well known and, as we head into lambing, this study highlights the importance of identifying the cause of losses and what control options for foxes are available.

“We will be briefing our members on this shortly.”

Nadia Flaherty, policy advisor (wildlife management) for SLE, said: “We are enormously grateful to the farms which volunteered to take part in this important research, the findings of which clearly demonstrate the impacts of foxes, in particular, on vulnerable lambs.

“This research will usefully inform actions to mitigate against the impacts of predators in the future, and we hope further such studies will be considered to ascertain the kind of impacts badgers might be having on wildlife, including vulnerable ground-nesting birds.”