Object number
68/564
Description
This is a badger fork, which was used by poachers at Totnes, Devon for pinning badgers to the ground before putting in a sack. This fork is made of a naturally forked birch branch.
Physical description
1 fork: wood
Label Text
HAWK TRAP<br>This trap was used to capture hawks around the Aylesbury district of Buckinghamshire, likely before 1904 when such traps were made illegal. The inscriptions ‘1×1’ and ‘51711’ are stamped along the edge. Such traps were often used in areas with commercial fisheries to protect fish from predators.<br><br>Although harmful bird traps such as these are now illegal, sixteen cases of illegal trapping were reported to the RSPB in 2015. Trapping hawks for falconry is still permitted, but requires a government license which are rarely issued. Falconry birds are usually bred in captivity.<br><br>MERL 52/279
Archival history
MERL ‘Handwritten catalogue correction’ form – ‘BADGER FORK // Hunting Poaching // L. K. Elmhurst, Donnington Hall, Totnes // BIRCH Natural forked branch .. Condition: wood rotten. Broken in two pieces in transit. Ends of fork broken- before arrival at MERL.’
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Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_11265.tif - High resolution image
