Mole Myths......true or false

[Axholme Ferreter 0]

Is it true that they can starve to death in 24 hours?

 

If so this would make someone using a humane trap and not checking it cruel

 

If its a humane trap it should be humane death

 

IF the 'humane' trap is checked every 4 hours and IF it has caught (unlikely with the ones I have seen) what do you do with the mole?

Release it where the conditions may be suitable as there are mole hills? This will be in another moles territory where they are highly likely to fight and injure or kill each other? Or do you release it where there are no mole hills and so probably not enough worms/food to support a mole? Both would technically be illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act which says you can not release an animal in to an enviroment where it it is not suitable to support it. These sort of traps are not humane, most are bought by people who put them in the ground and then forget about them. Because they do not have a direct connection to killing the animal they can kid themselves. Better to use a correctly set good quality spring trap which will kill quickly and humanely.

 

Sorry was I ranting a bit there?????

 

All the best

AF

[ianrob 2]

Is it true that they can starve to death in 24 hours?

 

If so this would make someone using a humane trap and not checking it cruel

 

If its a humane trap it should be humane death

 

IF the 'humane' trap is checked every 4 hours and IF it has caught (unlikely with the ones I have seen) what do you do with the mole?

Release it where the conditions may be suitable as there are mole hills? This will be in another moles territory where they are highly likely to fight and injure or kill each other? Or do you release it where there are no mole hills and so probably not enough worms/food to support a mole? Both would technically be illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act which says you can not release an animal in to an enviroment where it it is not suitable to support it. These sort of traps are not humane, most are bought by people who put them in the ground and then forget about them. Because they do not have a direct connection to killing the animal they can kid themselves. Better to use a correctly set good quality spring trap which will kill quickly and humanely.

 

 

 

Sorry was I ranting a bit there?????

 

All the best

AF

 

 

I think your rant is quite justified. The mouse traps are the same in so much as they are ineffective. If they release the mice then they just come back. Better to use a good spring trap or pro poison..

Edited January 11, 2009 by ianrob

[RatSnatcher 0]

I was refering to a humane killing trap, axholme are you refering to a mole live catch trap? I'm confused is there such a thing

[ellir0305 9]

My old headkeeper used to say that if you found a dead mole on a footpath or woodland track it meant that a fox was about.

Don't know if this was just to encourage us to spend more time on vermin control or if it has any biological truth.

 

Cats and foxes catch them and play with them without eating them sometimes - same goes for shrews. They must taste funny or something?

 

OTC

 

apparently they taste bitter so foxes etc dont eat them, i know my cat never did

[Holdaway 2]

Rtasnatcher. Yes you can get 'humane' live traps for moles, they consists of a type of tube with swing door i think. From what I have read on every post about them they are quite inaffective. It was the catch alive I was referribg to in my previous post.

 

H

[zig zag wanderer 0]

Both would technically be illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act which says you can not release an animal in to an enviroment where it it is not suitable to support it.

What page of the Act is that AF? I'm sure you are right but I have never noticed that one. It could be a useful one to quote to bunny hugging customers.

[RatSnatcher 0]

Never heard of live catch traps for moles Holdaway , I am in the eradication business if I find one in my traps and its alive a swift crack to the head, non of this move the problem on to some other unfortunate land owner, seriously who would

 

Live catch traps for moles who thought of that lets see one : doh:

 

And cmon who's gonna check there mole traps every 4 hrs

Edited January 11, 2009 by RatSnatcher

[devonlad 0]

Rtasnatcher. Yes you can get 'humane' live traps for moles, they consists of a type of tube with swing door i think. From what I have read on every post about them they are quite inaffective. It was the catch alive I was referribg to in my previous post.

 

H

 

There are moves afoot trying to get these "live catch" traps discontinued, due to the poor welfare implications. Lord Donoughue has been asked to look at the discontinuation of these traps, as well as another MEP representative.

 

If you consider "Mr Smith" buys one of these traps at the local garden centre to catch a mole in his garden, it's placed in situ and a mole is duly caught in it, it could be several long hrs, or even days before this is checked, no law has been broken as the trap has no springs in it's operation. The mole is then taken to a relocation area, already depleted of water and food, to be released, which is intself an offence to relocate a pest onto another persons land without their permission.. and as mentioned previously to face a situation where it realistically has little or no chance of survival, due to it's condition, it's territorial nature etc..

 

Because of the above points and the requirement to comply with current Animal Welfare Acts, there really is no place for this type of trap, unless they are being used by those carrying out bona fide research under strict welfare guidelines.

Edited January 11, 2009 by devonlad

[RatSnatcher 0]

It seem like another bunny hugging load of bollocks to me live catch traps for moles who they made by The big cheese££££

[Matt 160]

I think it was the late Nigel Shearing who first developed a live catch trap for moles.

 

I'm no fan of these so called 'humane' traps either, but they are freely available to purchase for those 'less informed' members of the public.

[comanche 3,057]

I was given one of these catch-alive tube traps by a customer who addmited that he'd forgotten about it and only found it by accident when he hit it with a fork . luckily it had'nt caught a mole . I sometimes show it to customers who have heard of such things and like the idea of a so called "humane " method of trapping. A few words about the starvation ,dehydration and stress caused to a highly- strung animals' nervous system are usually enough to put the customer off the idea . Add to this that unless these traps are set in really shallow runs they cannot be checked easily without being exposed every few hours and the operator either lifting them right out of the ground or peering through two tiny (1cm )squares in the hope of spotting movement. The fact that they are 10 inches long means quite a hole in the lawn even if you can find a straight run to set it in.

Ok for scientific study where there is proper monitoring maybe but as a humane pest tool ....

[comanche 3,057]

My old headkeeper used to say that if you found a dead mole on a footpath or woodland track it meant that a fox was about.

Don't know if this was just to encourage us to spend more time on vermin control or if it has any biological truth.

 

Cats and foxes catch them and play with them without eating them sometimes - same goes for shrews. They must taste funny or something?

 

OTC

S'posed to be one of the foulest tasting animals going according to Victorian biologist /gourmets Francis Buckland and his dad . Owls eat em with relish though . Er when I say "with relish" I don't mean things like horseradish sauce.

[DUCKWING 302]

My old headkeeper used to say that if you found a dead mole on a footpath or woodland track it meant that a fox was about.

Don't know if this was just to encourage us to spend more time on vermin control or if it has any biological truth.

 

Cats and foxes catch them and play with them without eating them sometimes - same goes for shrews. They must taste funny or something?

 

OTC

 

apparently they taste bitter so foxes etc dont eat them, i know my cat never did

 

 

WELL LADS ,

 

I DONT KNOW ABOUT THE TASTE THEORY .................... AS I OFTEN FED MY FERRETS ON MOLES AND THEY READILY EAT THEM

 

ALL THE BEST

 

 

DUCKWING

[comanche 3,057]

My old headkeeper used to say that if you found a dead mole on a footpath or woodland track it meant that a fox was about.

Don't know if this was just to encourage us to spend more time on vermin control or if it has any biological truth.

 

Cats and foxes catch them and play with them without eating them sometimes - same goes for shrews. They must taste funny or something?

 

OTC

 

apparently they taste bitter so foxes etc dont eat them, i know my cat never did

 

 

WELL LADS ,

 

I DONT KNOW ABOUT THE TASTE THEORY .................... AS I OFTEN FED MY FERRETS ON MOLES AND THEY READILY EAT THEM

 

ALL THE BEST

 

 

DUCKWING

Yep .A friend feeds his freds skinned moles . Tis true though that water shrews have a toxic saliva and maybe other shrews give something nasty off if they have been grooming themselves . Also true that foxes and cats seem keen enough to kill moles but distain from eating em .Seems ferrets might have had the fussyness bred out of them .

[steve66 3,554]

Read recently about a field in east yorks where the moles where pushing old roman coins out with the soil for the mole hills , mustnt have liked them in there tunnels