Sunday, 17 July 2016
The Flatwoods Monster Case - Ivan Sanderson's 1953 report - FREE MOVIE
Apologies that there are ads in this but it is an historical recording by Ivan T. Sanderson on his INVESTIGATION into the "Flatwoods" or Braxton County case. Sanderson WENT THERE and spoke to the observers at the time. He did not base everything on newspaper accounts or hearsay. this is the actual case not the fakery added to it since that time.
Whatever Happened to "The Hull Werewolf"?
I'm just tidying up loose ends here -DON'T get excited.
Back on 16th May, 2016, I posted this. I also issued a challenge to the newspapers involved and the "cryptozoologists" and "paranormalists" involved.
Not unexpectedly, not a single response. Rather like the fictionalised "British Bigfoot" this whole werewolf fantasy has proven itself...a fantasy. A hoax. A story made up to grab a few readers.
Unless, of course, a covert operations unit of the RSPCA captured it and covered everything up?
"Dog Man", British "wild man" or "British Bigfoot" -names of witnesses and better details than this. America goes for every dumb craze going and the UK seems to follow on a few years later.
No werewolves, no dog-man. Every time these stories appear there are nothing but dead ends and someone who knew someone who was anonymous. Rubbish.
Or do YOU have any evidence?
And a residents of a city are "trembling in terror" pft.
Seven separate eye witnesses claim to
have spotted the 8ft tall creature lurking in an abandoned industrial
area outside the centre of Hull.
Residents and folklore experts believe the mythical beast, said to turn from a human to wolf at a new moon, is Old Stinker.
According to a centuries-old legend the foul-breathed creature prowls the Yorkshire Wolds.
But locals fear it may now have decided to claim the overgrown area as its turf.
The lonely banks of Barmston Drain, a water channel built in 1798 to dry out salt marshes, are where the creature was first reported before Christmas.
One woman claims to have seen it turn from man to beast as she stood quaking on a bridge above.
She said: “It was stood upright one moment. The next it was down on all fours running like a dog. I was terrified.
“It bounded along on all fours,
then stopped and reared up on to its back legs, before running down the
embankment towards the water.
“It vaulted 30ft over to the other side and vanished up the embankment and over a wall into some allotments.”
A couple saw “something tall and hairy” eating a German Shepherd dog next to the Drain.
They stopped to get a closer look and saw it jump an 8ft high fence before vanishing into the night, its prey still in its jaws.
And a woman walking her dog along the watercourse spotted something “half-man, half-dog” in the distance.
She was terrified, and her pet began shaking and refused to go any further along the path.
Now locals plan a werewolf hunt with cameras and recording equipment at the next moon.
Local councillor Steve Wilson has offered to keep an incident log.
He said: “I am happy to keep a diary of sightings by people around here and report them to Hull Council.”
Witnesses say when the creature transforms, its upper body is more wolf than man – similar to the beast in the American Werewolf films.
The Hull creature bears an uncanny
resemblance to the legend of Old Stinker – said to prowl The Wold Newton
Triangle, an area of eerie goings on near Scarborough.
Charles Christian, author of A Travel Guide To Yorkshire’s Weird Wolds, said sightings went back centuries.
He said: “The Yorkshire Wolds was actually one of the last parts of England to have wild wolves. Old Stinker was said to be operating on the other side of them but it would be no distance at all for a large animal to get to Hull."
He added: “When you get multiple
sightings combined with a tradition of stories going back centuries it
is hard to ignore the possibility something might be there.”
Worried locals have sought help from Mike Covell, an expert in the supernatural.
He said: “I was sceptical at first, but then more and more people contacted me saying they had seen the same thing.
“No one really knows what to do. You can hardly pop down the local council office or police station and say you’d like to report a werewolf.”
And as someone pointed out -Hull is in the East Riding of Yorkshire not South Yorkshire. How the Hell does anyone even get that wrong -there are maps on the internet if they can't handle paper ones. You get a fact like that wrong then maybe you DO believe there are werewolves.......
The Mirror online has this headline: Mystery 'werewolf' creature terrifying families in Hull sparks major hunt http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mystery-werewolf-creature-terrifying-families-7979525
Here's a challenge to these newspapers: I've been looking into all sorts of phenomena and mystery creatures since the mid-1970s. I am a naturalist. Open minded if presented with FACTS. Pay my expenses and I'll talk to the witnesses and look around this "home turf" of the creature.
Challenged.
Back on 16th May, 2016, I posted this. I also issued a challenge to the newspapers involved and the "cryptozoologists" and "paranormalists" involved.
Not unexpectedly, not a single response. Rather like the fictionalised "British Bigfoot" this whole werewolf fantasy has proven itself...a fantasy. A hoax. A story made up to grab a few readers.
Unless, of course, a covert operations unit of the RSPCA captured it and covered everything up?
Hull Werewolf -Challenge To The Newspapers
"Dog Man", British "wild man" or "British Bigfoot" -names of witnesses and better details than this. America goes for every dumb craze going and the UK seems to follow on a few years later.
No werewolves, no dog-man. Every time these stories appear there are nothing but dead ends and someone who knew someone who was anonymous. Rubbish.
Or do YOU have any evidence?
And a residents of a city are "trembling in terror" pft.
Residents trembling in terror after seeing '8 FOOT WEREWOLF' in British city
A CITY is trembling in terror as the full moon approaches, after a spate of werewolf sightings.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/670358/Hull-South-Yorkshire-werewolf-Old-Stinker-full-moon-Barmston-DrainResidents and folklore experts believe the mythical beast, said to turn from a human to wolf at a new moon, is Old Stinker.
According to a centuries-old legend the foul-breathed creature prowls the Yorkshire Wolds.
The lonely banks of Barmston Drain, a water channel built in 1798 to dry out salt marshes, are where the creature was first reported before Christmas.
One woman claims to have seen it turn from man to beast as she stood quaking on a bridge above.
She said: “It was stood upright one moment. The next it was down on all fours running like a dog. I was terrified.
“It vaulted 30ft over to the other side and vanished up the embankment and over a wall into some allotments.”
A couple saw “something tall and hairy” eating a German Shepherd dog next to the Drain.
They stopped to get a closer look and saw it jump an 8ft high fence before vanishing into the night, its prey still in its jaws.
And a woman walking her dog along the watercourse spotted something “half-man, half-dog” in the distance.
Now locals plan a werewolf hunt with cameras and recording equipment at the next moon.
Local councillor Steve Wilson has offered to keep an incident log.
He said: “I am happy to keep a diary of sightings by people around here and report them to Hull Council.”
Witnesses say when the creature transforms, its upper body is more wolf than man – similar to the beast in the American Werewolf films.
Charles Christian, author of A Travel Guide To Yorkshire’s Weird Wolds, said sightings went back centuries.
He said: “The Yorkshire Wolds was actually one of the last parts of England to have wild wolves. Old Stinker was said to be operating on the other side of them but it would be no distance at all for a large animal to get to Hull."
Worried locals have sought help from Mike Covell, an expert in the supernatural.
He said: “I was sceptical at first, but then more and more people contacted me saying they had seen the same thing.
“No one really knows what to do. You can hardly pop down the local council office or police station and say you’d like to report a werewolf.”
And as someone pointed out -Hull is in the East Riding of Yorkshire not South Yorkshire. How the Hell does anyone even get that wrong -there are maps on the internet if they can't handle paper ones. You get a fact like that wrong then maybe you DO believe there are werewolves.......
The Mirror online has this headline: Mystery 'werewolf' creature terrifying families in Hull sparks major hunt http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mystery-werewolf-creature-terrifying-families-7979525
Here's a challenge to these newspapers: I've been looking into all sorts of phenomena and mystery creatures since the mid-1970s. I am a naturalist. Open minded if presented with FACTS. Pay my expenses and I'll talk to the witnesses and look around this "home turf" of the creature.
Challenged.
Books For Lovers Of The Strange and weird!
Yes, folks, just a few of the
things I've investigated are included in these books -all fully referenced and
including photographs and illustrations once thought lost.
Canids, in the form of foxes,
I'm still studying -and learning!
The Red Paper: Canids -Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Coyotes in the UK
One for those interested in Wildlife -or cryptozoology!
Terry Hooper
The Red Paper: Canids
Paperback,
A4 (21 x 30cms)
202 Pages
Photographs, illustrations and maps
Price:
£10.29
Ships in 3–5 business days
By the 1700s the British fox
was on the verge of extinction and about to follow the bear and wolf having been
hunted for sport for centuries.
The answer was to import
thousands of foxes per year for sport. But foxes kept dying out so jackals were
tried. Some were caught, some escaped. Even wolves and coyote were released for
hunting and "country folk" were very far from "happy" -some
even threatening local hunts -one intending to release a wolf for a hunt- with
legal and other consequences.
The summation of over 40
years research by the noted naturalist and former UK police forces exotic
wildlife consultant reveals the damnable lie of "pest control"
hunting but also reveals the cruelty the animals were subject to and how
private menageries as well as travelling shows.
Private menageries, or single
exotic "pets" as well as travelling shows helped provide the British
and Irish countryside with some incredible events such as the 1905
"vampiric" sheep killer of Badminton, the mystery hounds of Cavan and
Coyotes of Epping Forest.
The Girt Dog of Ennerdale is
also dealt with in detail -was it a tiger? A Tasmania Thylacine? This book gives the
exact facts and details for the first time.
Up-dated 2013 edition
includes a section on sarcoptic mange in foxes and treatment plus a list of
wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres in the UK.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/the-red-papercanines-vol1/paperback/product-20492038.html
Some Things Strange & Sinister (2013 -up-dated)
A4 Format
B&W
Paperback
358 pages
Heavily illustrated
Price:
£15.00
Ships in 3–5 business days
After more than 40 years as
an investigator and more than fifty as a naturalist,the author has opened some
of the many files he has accumulated dealing with such things as..
The Terrifying Events At The
Lamb Inn, The Ghosts Of All Saints Church, Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey
Island, captured bigfoot like creatures in India -all exclusively presented
for the first time and with new added research previously unseen.
PLUS a vastly expanded
section on Spring-heeled Jack!
Photographs, maps, line
drawings and up-dated to make 358 pages looking at Things truly Strange and
Sinister.
Cryptozoologist,Ghost Hunter,Ufologist
or Fortean:this book has something for everyone -including the just plain
inquisitive!
Contents
Foreword by Travis L.
Whitehurst
Introduction
de occultis non judicat ecclesia
The Bristol Rocking Horse
The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn
The Coonian Ghost
The Ghosts Of All Saints Church
His Luminous Chamber
The Late Reverend Dr. Blomberg
And More Ghost Stories
The Thomas B. Cumpston Case
The Chupacabra
The Strange Case Of The Gotherington
Gargoyle
What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes?
Mystery Beasts Of Ireland
The Creature Of The Dump
The Strange Creature Of Repton Woods
The Bizarre Legends,Crimes And Truth
About Spring Heeled Jack
The Black Beast Of Darmstadt
The Nameless Thing Of Berkley Square
The Terrifying Case Of The U.S. Naval
Transport
The Case Of The Ghost Lear Jet
Ghost Planes,Crashes And Dead Aquatic
Creatures
The Mitchison Loch Ness
Monster Video
From The Deep Below To The Air Above
–USOs
Aerial Encounters Over Austria
A Crashed UFO In 1790?
Angel Hair
Quimper-Corentin:Where “Thunder Fell”
Strange Aliens From Space
The Llandrillo ‘Saucer’ And Other Crash
Retrievals
Transient Lunar Phenomena,Alien
Structures And Moon Vegetation
Whiddon
Down-Saint-Jean-du-Guard:Impossible Correlations?
The Venezuelan Horror
A Final Word.
Alleged piece of crashed UFO from Berwyn Mountains, Wales.
Some More Things Strange & Sinister
Paperback,
A4
327 Pages
A4
327 Pages
Heavily illustrated
Price:
£15.00
Ships in 3–5 business days
Follow-up to the hugely
successful Some Things Strange & Sinister.
For those interested in
Ufology, cryptozoology, hominology, unusual natural history, ghosts and
mysteries in general.
The secret history of
gorillas in the UK
-before they were officially
'discovered'. The history of the
Wild men of Europe, the UK
and US: something that in the 1800s become very "pop culture" Very pop culture and totally forgotten today!
Hominology. Sasquatch and
Bigfoot -is there evidence for their existence?
No sitting on the fence here -the Patterson-Gimlin film is looked at as
well as other evidence. The Author's
conclusions? You might be surprised.
Giant snakes. Amazons. The
Giant serpent of Carthage.
The Girt Dog of Ennerdale -another big cult 'creature' amongst paranormal and
cryptozoological circles. The Beast of Gevaudan -what was it and were there
really descendents of the creature in the 19th century -one of which was
actually brought to London?
Believe it or not more than one incident of
historical crocodiles cases in the UK.
In fact, far more than even the Author had thought .
And, after more than a
century of claims by 'researchers' that it no longer exists: The Silent City of
Alaska and
the near legendary 'lost' photograph taken of it.
This and much more. Updated with extra pages
and photographs.
Pursuing The Strange And Weird -A Naturalist's Viewpoint (2014 up-date)
Terry Hooper-Scharf
Paperback,
Paperback,
A4
249 Pages
Price:
£15.00
Ships in 3-5 business days.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/pursuing-the-strange-weirda-naturalists-viewpoint/paperback/product-21307125.html
UP DATE -From Dead Aquatic
(Humanoid) Creatures, the giant squid and yet undiscovered sea creatures;
submarine and ships crews encountering true leviathans.
There is a fully expanded
section which also refers to the so-called ‘Ningen’ sightings and video
footage.
Extinct animals at sea that
have been re-discovered. The subject of Sasquatch and other mystery Hominids
around the world is dealt with including a look at the “Sasquatch-killer”,
Justin Smeja.
Dr. Bryan Sykes and his DNA
test results for TVs The Bigfoot Files as well as the controversial Erickson
Project and Dr. Melba Ketchum’s Even more controversial Sasquatch DNA test
results.
Also included are two early
French UFO entity cases that still baffle. Ghosts, strange creatures and the
Star-Child hoax. All dealt with by the naturalist and pursuer of the strange
and weird
The Bizarre Legends, Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack (2014
Terry Hooper-Scharf
Paperback,
53 Pages
Dimensions (centimetres) 20.98 wide x 29.69 tall (A4)
fully illustrated and referenced
Price:
£7.00
Ships in 3–5 business days
The terror and mystery
created by “Jack The Ripper” has been the subject of countless books, magazine
articles as well as movies and TV documentaries. Ask anyone if they have ever
heard of Jack The Ripper and it is doubtful anyone would respond with a “no
idea.”
By that same token, ask
people who “Spring-heeled Jack” was and you would be lucky to find anyone who
had ever heard of him.
Spring-heeled Jack was the
subject (loosely) of a film The Curse of the Wraydons (1946) and Dominic
Keating also appeared as Spring Heeled Jack in the 2010 film Sherlock Holmes by
The Asylum film company. The character has also featured in both American and
British comic books and a number of books, for both children and adults.
But the fact that the
Springald held the country –not just London–
in a grip of terror much longer that the Ripper did is all but forgotten except
for some half-truths and fanciful theories.
Now be prepared to read the
full story of Spring Heeled Jack
"The case was looked at by none other than Jacques Vallee which makes it near unquestionably fact!"
"The case was looked at by none other than Jacques Vallee which makes it near unquestionably fact!"
No.
You see, to myself and my late friend and colleague Franklyn A. Davin-Wilson, the Frenchman was a bit of a hero. A lone scientist standing up to question the scientific establishment regarding the facts and truths about UFOs. How could you go wrong?
As proven by posts on this blog, certain 'factual' historical and other events involving 'UFOs' or "some other force" never happened. Some were just tall tales, faery tales and outright hoaxes -in the case of hoaxes, Vallee was still citing those cases in his last works.
When it came down to collating every UFO report we could get our hands on (sadly, Franklyn died in 1983 so this became a one man project) for the Grey Book Report there were books that were dismissed within an hour.
Desmond Leslie, former editor of The Flying Saucer Review seemed to be almost incapable of stating a simple fact. If he wrote "Every 24 hours the sun rises" I'd need to check that out because if he stated it was a fact it must be questionable! What original sources quoted that really did have a date and time matching what Leslie wrote...well. A "manned classic flying saucer with multiple lights maneuvering over Rome" was, in source, "a spear crossed above the city" ("spear" and similar terms meant meteors).
It was assumed that Vallee was above reproach since he advocated close scrutiny of all cases. Wrong. His quoting a known hoaxer such as Foglio but never checking the sources given was akin, to me, with being hit over the knuckles with a hammer. A one off. No...in fact, far, far more than a mere "one off".
As I showed in my books -with references and sources quoted and having been checked- particularly Some Things Strange & Sinister and later in my other books, Vallee fell from grace. Hard.
Quimper-Corentin, France, 1620: never happened as Vallee described.
Alencon, France, 1790: UFO and entity case -never happened and no report in the archives of the French Academy of Sciences as Vallee claimed:and he could have checked!
And to still use known hoax cases and cases proven to have other explanations and cite them as evidence to back up his personal theories. Unforgivable.
But, and again, I have posted and written about this, there are other "highly regarded and credible" Ufologists -European and American- who have used as 'evidence' cases they have never looked into nor done research on.
I have seen,on television as well as on You tube available documentaries, some of today's "top" UFO 'experts' cite the Thomas Mantell case as still being the death of a USAAF pilot dying while pursuing an "alien craft". Utter bull-shit. How and why Mantell died we know. It was tragic but down to human error -error on Mantell's part. But if the person saying Mantell died pursuing an alien craft is an 'expert' (I call them "fraudsters") and on TV....now, the Public is not going to query that or get off its collective fat arses and go do some research to find out the truth.
These are the days when most 'factual' programmes on TV are faked -"cast" as well as "writers" are listed but it's 'factual' because "This program is intended for entertainment purposes only" at the beginning is "just legal stuff"....yes. Legal stuff for a reason.
TV: Mountain Monsters -Fake. Ghost Adventures -Fake. Ghost Hunters and its spin-offs -Fake. Fact or Faked -Fake. Haunted Highway -Faked. Haunted Collector -SO Faked. My Ghost story -Faked it goes on and on. Because "artistic license" allows for more entertainment with special effects, actors and so on.
Look at the factual programme -Finding Bigfoot. "But they never find Bigfoot!" Well, yes. Because Bigfoot does not pop out for a group of people with film crews and who make a LOT of noise. And tree-knocks and calls are not evidence of a Bigfoot being there. It simply means that, somewhere in the forest, other Bigfoot investigators who also keep their work and where they are going "very close to the chest" have heard tree-knocking and calls and respond!
There are locations where Bigfoot activity is regular but a few days in an area is NOT going to get you a glimpse of Bigfoot. It takes a long period of time and financial backing. Something you are not going to get so "fake it" with other programmes.
And if people believe that the faked programmes and 'experts' are real and every house, hotel, bar has a demonic presence/gateway or portal to Hell/little girl ghost blah blah blah then they'll believe in "the Goatman" or the "Pigman" or evil gnomes and so much more including that Grey aliens are abducting billions a year.
All this makes Vallee's claims, of course, seem very tame and scientific. Of course, compared to the Rex Dutta's and Peter Fischer's (aka Peter Paget) of Ufology he does seem to be a scientist beyond reproach. But, sadly, egotism, very poor research and the willingness to jump straight into a theory or theories (I'm not quite sure WHAT he believes in these days) and push them on the gullible who, again, do not check for themselves, makes him a credible ufologist only on his own book cover blurb (and if I read once more how he inspired a character in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind I will scream).
The only way we will be able to find the true cases, the raw data needed to sort fact from fiction and be able say "Look. Here is the evidence. Read and take it from here" is by throwing out the fakery and very -VERY- poor research.
As Franklyn Davin-Wilson said: "Check the source given. Then check the source that the source gives. If it all tallies and you have spoken to the original source or seen it -then use it"
Thursday, 14 July 2016
Really? NOTHING To Report?
On the 29th of June I posted this:
"Sorry, but I've tried to encourage readers of this blog to send in news or personal reports that could be featured and I am not publishing every chapter of my books here.
Only so much one person can do and if there is no interest...."
Response?
ZERO.
Well, if the people who have viewed this blog since then do not have any real reports they think might be of interest I guess there is nothing really out there.
So, blog is here for reference until deleted in August because I seriously cannot see any change happening.
Its the "take" society. Read and move on.
Saturday, 2 July 2016
Are Those Pumas Still Out There??
Lachel's alleged 1928 Devon Puma photo.
When I started advising the police in 1977 I expected to hear the odd story but by 2009 -no arguments.
But here is the thing. I spoke to someone in a little English village.
"Big expert" explained not to panic if one was seen locally.
I then get told "Oh kids were told if one moves through the area keep away from the woods and high grass and crops" and what to do if face to face with a puma.
"You people have certainly done your research" I said.
"Oh, not us. Its what my mother told us because her mother told her and the brothers what to do".
Me. "I'm sorry?"
It turns out her mother -IN THE 1950s- was told the care to take "if the cat comes through" So I ask if her mother was a naturalist or-?
"No. No. Housewife and did garden work (means she planted and grew the fruit and veg for the family as well as the other stuff) but when the cats used to pass through and kill the odd deer or rabbits she was told by her father what to do. The whole village was the same."
Now, hang on. Her mother was a younger in the 1930s but someone back there was familiar enough with pumas to know their traits?
"Its nothing new, dear" she told me.
And the same story from other villages in England and Wales. When I eventually joined up with the University of Wales Carmarthen the professor there (whose pony had been attacked by a puma and various foals killed not to mention sheep -which is when villagers told her and her husband about "the cats") and her assistant found the same thing.
We could trace things back to the 17th and 18th centuries and yet, in all of that time -over 4 centuries- not one person has been attacked or killed by a wild living puma. Plenty of encounters up close but njo panic and run. There are millions of rabbits and millions of deer in the UK, water fowl -a whole pantry. There are even estates where game keepers (game keepers!!!!) protect the cats because they keep down "vermin".
None of this eventually surprised me, and when a Senior Lecturer in Zoology with an international reputation who has dealt with puma work in Canada told me he saw a black puma within 70 feet of him in good lighting and "with every diagnostic feature of a puma"....I never blinked.
Despite all the morons out there it is good to know that "Little England" (in the countryside at least) is not in panic. It treats wildlife as wildlife and "if you don't bother them they won't bother you!"
Fair enough. From December 2015: please note that after I posted the DEFRA letter there was an attempt at some VERY heavy official "leaning" on me. I offered to post other more revealing documents -silence since then.
Big Cats In The UK?
I've mentioned UK large cat sightings so time for a little bit of truth -which DEFRA really does not like. This is 10 years old now and was sent to me by a reporter, Jennie Dennett who wanted to find out more about the large cat sightings going on in Cumbria. I explained the situation so she went for a Freedom of Information request.
This was the response:
Jennie Dennett
The Westmoreland Gazette
25 Market
Street,
Ulverston,
Cumbria
LA12 7LR
|
Our ref EWD 487
Delay
Date 20th May 2005 |
Dear Ms Dennett,
Thank you for your request for information about sightings of big
non-native cats in the UK.
Your request has been considered under the Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) 2004 and following careful consideration, I can now inform
you that we have decided that some of the information you have requested will
be disclosed and some withheld.
It may firstly be useful if I explained some of the background to the
issue of big cats. There is no formal process for the recording of big non-native
cat sightings. Defra’s Rural Development Service (RDS) National Wildlife
Management Team does investigate claims of big cat sightings, but only in cases
where there is a potential risk to livestock. Any instance where there is a
potential risk to the public is a matter for the Home Office and the Police.
Any sightings reported by a member of the public to the RDS
since mid-2001 have been recorded, however it is important to note
that the Team covers England
only. Prior to this, a member of the Team kept a personal record of sightings
gleaned from newspaper cuttings, etc. This information is no longer available,
but some of it was published and may be available from public libraries. I’m
afraid that we do not hold copies of these two reports.:
Baker, S.J. (1990).
Escaped exotic mammals in Britain.
Mammal Review, 20, 75-96.
Baker, S.J. (1990). Escaped exotic mammals in Britain. Mammalaction (Newsletter
of the Mammal Society Youth Group), 48, 3-4
In 1995 the (then
MAFF) wildlife team conducted an investigation into reports of large exotic
cats in the Bodmin area of Cornwall.
A report of this investigation was published as follows:
Baker, S J and C J Wilson (1995) The evidence for the presence of large
exotic cats in the Bodmin area and their possible impact on livestock. MAFF, London 16pp. No. PB2308
(available online at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/reports/Exotic-Cats.pdf) For ease I attach a copy of this report.
I am afraid that we will not release details of individual sightings as
we believe that this data falls under exception 12(4)(d) of the Environmental
Information Regulations in that the information is in the course of completion.
We intend to publish the data we have collected in relation to the dates,
numbers and summary locations of exotic sightings within the next 3
months. In making this decision we have carefully considered the public
interest test and have balanced the need for disclosure against the need to
withhold the data. We believe that it is reasonable for us to withhold the data
whilst we collate and prepare it for publication.
However, I can inform you that since RDS began recording sightings
reported by the public (circa April 2001 to 31 March 2005) there have been
28 unconfirmed big cat sightings recorded for England. None of these sightings
were from Cumbria.
Defra holds no physical evidence that big non-native cats are living in
the wild in Cumbria or
elsewhere in the UK.
Release of big cats into the wild is prohibited under the Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 and possession of these species is regulated under the
Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. If there is believed to be a public safety
issue, for example from an escaped big cat, then this is a matter for the
Police. RDS do have a record of instances of known escapes of big cats from
1977. I have attached a copy of this table for information.
I do not know whether the Central Science Laboratory or the Veterinary
Laboratories Agency hold any data regarding big cats. In order for me to
contact them and fully explore whether they hold such data, I regret that we
must extend the time limit for responding by 20 days. I hope to let you have a
response on this particular part of your enquiry by 16 June, and will keep you
informed of any further delay. In the meantime I hope that you will find the
attached information useful.
If you are unhappy with the way the authority has handled your request,
you may ask for an internal review. Please contact Lewis Baker, Head of Defra’s Access to
Information Unit at, Area1E West block 3-8 Whitehall Place London
SW1A 2HH who will arrange an internal review of your
case.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information
Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
If you have any
queries about this letter please contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Simon R Harding
Species Policy Adviser
Fax 0117 372 8182
Email
simon.r.harding@defra.gsi.gov.uk
I like the start of the letter: "... some of the information you have requested will be disclosed and some withheld." Well, start as you mean to go on.
Firstly, the "Beast of Bodmin" investigation was flawed from the very start. Those involved would only listen
to those it decided it wanted to talk to: those whose cases could be
easily dismissed or a little official scorn poured over the claims.
I spoke to five people who requested
to submit evidence in the form of audio recordings which involved a
quite clear call that someone at the BBC Natural History Unit (when I
worked with them) said straight away "Oh,that's a leopard roar where was
it from -" at this point he held up his hand and said "That sounds like
sheep in the background...and a fox bark?" Then I told him where it
was recorded! There were other calls and two had the recordists
talking as they lent out of windows to record what was going on: "That's
up by the paddock...."/ "****** it's going up toward the sheep sheds!"
and some other choice words as a huge roar was recorded. The audio clips "might have been peacocks or foxes" I'd hate to meet a Bodmin 'fox' or 'peacock' at night!
"Inadmissable" the 'investigation'
panel said. A professional cat tracker from Africa who had lived on
Bodmin wanted to give evidence as he had seen the tracks and made casts
but was dismissed out of hand. I was told later about a comment "From
Africa, tracked leopards and has casts? Could have faked them" (by which
they meant he could have had them with him since Africa).
"We
intend to publish the data we have collected in relation to the dates,
numbers and summary locations of exotic sightings within the next 3
months. In making this decision we have carefully considered the public
interest test and have balanced the need for disclosure against the need
to withhold the data. We believe that it is reasonable for us to
withhold the data whilst we collate and prepare it for publication."
Okay, where is the report? In fact the policy was that there may be large cats but just don't tell anyone.
So long as livestock are not in danger and a cat presents no clear danger to members of the public...nothing "to do with us".
Let's shed some light here.
During 1996 I visited the DEFRA
offices in Bristol to meet the man who would deal with such reports. He
explained that he had no knowledge of cats "but I can call on experts"
-someone just said to him one day "Here. You can answer any calls on
big cats" and that was it. My visit was the subject of some confusion
-but not on my part. I had my ID and some Home Office and other papers
in a clear folder and the person at reception shot off and in a couple
minutes "the man" was there to greet me -this story and the man's name
is known amongst serious naturalists.
I was ushered into an office and I
took some plaster casts out of my bag and I was asked "What made those?
Was it a dog?" I said no and highlighted the "pointers" on the tracks
"Puma" I said. I was then told to "look at these" and a large drawer
was pulled open that contained plaster casts. I pointed to one set
"Lynx" I said and he said "So I've been told" and I noted leopard and
puma tracks plus, I think, jungle cat.
I then said that we needed to work a
lot closer to sort out some kind of plan. "Absolutely, I'mlost with this
-which department at the Home Office are you in?" I looked at him and
asked why he thought I was with the Home Office? Apparently, the person
at reception had said so. "No. No, that's incorrect" I said showing my
ID and saying "You'll find me listed as a police advisor-"
"No. No. You shouldn't be here. You have to leave now!" said "Mr Panic" and so he escorted me back out.
So, yes, MAFF/DEFRA had pretty good evidence but they were NOT investigating what was locked up at DEFRA in Bristol -inadmissable.
I also have a signed affidavit from
a gentleman living in the North of England on a farm. Educated, knows
what he's talking about and liaised with localpolice about a panther
that walked through the courtyard regularly. A trap was set up and the
idea was to trap the cat and get it to a wildlife park or zoo where it
could be housed and tests run. The cat was trapped and DEFRA was
contacted and very quickly an unmarked small white van turned up,
driven by a vet. The witness is very precise about what happened and
once the cat was tranquilised the vet told him that it was indeed a
leopard but they'd take care of it.
The witness was asked to help the vet
carry the cat from the cage and put it in the back of the van which he
did but he was puzzled. "But the cage is too big and how are you going
to get it into another?" was the question. He told me that he broke
into a cold sweat when the vet responded "It's dead not tranquilised".
Very unhappy he telephoned DEFRA who
said they had no idea what he was talking about so he contacted the
police. They had absolutely no doubt the story was true but were told
"its policy". End of story.
The witness was "gutted". However,
about a week later the police contacted me "There's another one of those
cats in the field by his property -how many are there?" I spoke to the
witness who told me he was walking and wondered whose black dog was
moving through the field nearby...then the cat emerged and ran off. He
was genuinely shocked. I asked what he intended to do? "Nothing. They
haven't caused a problem and I'm not having another one killed here".
I gave a copy of the affidavit to three different people and each deposited the copy in their bank. Mine is locked away safely in a bank.
I have a number of examples of this
type of thing -all documented (and when DEFRA found me to be a nuisance
and kept finding a fault in every renewal of my Partners Against
Wildlife Crime submission (14 times it was corrected and each time "oh,
this will need doing again" -despite two very senior police officers
being my guarantors). When DEFRA told me "We can always go to court
and have material seized" the data was distributed!
The statement that: "Defra holds no physical evidence that big non-native cats are living in the wild in Cumbria or elsewhere in the UK"
is, or was, a lie. I guess a lot gets destroyed but in the UK, as I
found in other work, "not everything has a paper trailor internet
presence"
Small and largish cats
are out there and despite all the lies you find on the internet, no
wild living wild cat species has attacked a human being -and these cats
have been out there since at least the 18th century.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)