Ravens In Britain

Ravens hunting a lamb.

A petition has been launched to take ravens off the protected species’ list and allow livestock owners to shoot them without having to obtain a special licence.

www.fginsight.com...

I do agree that other measures could be deployed to protect sheep from raven depredation – moving stock indoors during lambing is certainly an option in some locations. I am however not naive enough to believe this is an option in all localities and thus accept that some ravens will need to be killed. Something that animal welfare groups and “compassionate” conservationists will no doubt dispute. Protecting each and every individual of a species, at all costs, is a noble notion but one I do not feel is very realistic.

www.conservationjobs.co.uk...



Ravens in a particular area can learn bad habits and be very troublesome. Even pecking the eyes from animals as they walk along. But most areas don't yet have a notable population of ravens and they can spread out more if given the possibility.


Ravens are extremely wise and will check on activity in their area and spread the news. I could never shoot one.

a reply to: Kester

A decade or so ago it would be rare to see a flock of ravens in these parts and attacks were virtually unheard of. But in recent years there has been a nationwide explosion in the population . . .

I’ve seen ravens working together in groups of three herding the sheep into the corner with their wings spread out. They did it until they were exhausted and then one grabbed its tail with its beak and the others came in.”

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Highly intelligent birds with the size and power to hunt livestock.

wow! Call me dumb but I never knew they would attack large animals like that. Geez!
I think they are amazing creatures, but I would be very upset to be losing animals to them. I wonder if there is some safe way to divert them from the newborns? Would a sheepdog (or other herding/flock canine) stop this problem?

I have had multiple "teams" of Ravens over the years try to lure my cat to the edge of a cliff trying to get him to bail over,they tease him and hover in mid-air just long enough to snap his instincts on and bait him to his doom....so when I realised how smart they were my instincts snapped on......now my neighborhood is know to Ravens as a fatality ridden high volume accident zone.....and they stay clear....yes they are extremely smart and I have had one even learn what I was to him and take extreme offense to me ,unlike all the rest who went with the flow reasonably well.....scary smart actually and quite clinical in their thinking.

I used to capture magpies and Ravens and Crows as chicks,then hand-raise them,I knew they were fairly smart long ago,but those were rural birds....urban birds are Undercover Geniuses,and entirely different scenario .

There have been calls by some people for buzzards to be shot etc. You know, the same people and groups who a couple of decades ago had nearly hounded whole bird species into extinction in the UK. The same people's indifferent farming methods are pushing another load of birds to the limit. Britain's farmland bird populations have crashed since the 1970's alongside changing farming methods. It seems some farmers just want no wild life.

As a person who has farmed, I think there's too many farmers who do not make adequate provision for our bird population, seeking any old excuse to shoot and poison birds for their own gain.

Here's the raven.

RSPB - Raven

a reply to: paraphi

Here's a video describing how to make friends with wild ravens. One place I visit has a couple of ravens. They sometimes come and check on what I'm doing there. The surreal thing is they sometimes appear as I arrive, as if they knew I was coming. Probably just keeping watch from a highpoint.

a reply to: Kester
Symbolically in a spiritual sense it looks like the Morrigan has now ordered her little demons to hit Christians who are often referenced as the lambs of Jesus Christ.