Trophies of a Mole-catcher, a photo from Scottish Borders, Scotland

Photographer's Note

A gruesome sight seen about three years ago during the course of an otherwise very pleasant walk with friends along the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders.

I can understand that farmers believe that moles cause damage to their land and can also transmit diseases to their livestock and therefore need to be removed, but I can't quite understand why moles which have been caught and killed have to be displayed like trophies on a barbed wire fence. And this was only three of at least a dozen dead moles here. It made me think of the mediaeval practice of displaying the heads of executed thieves and traitors on spikes around a city's walls.

As well as causing considerable cosmetic damage to ornamental lawns and golf courses, moles also cause major problems on farmland too. Their burrowing can disturb water courses causing drainage problems and their churning up of earth can contaminate silage and other animal feeds causing sheep and cattle to die from listeriosis.

Moles can be detrimental in other ways as well. Every British mole-catcher can tell you the story of King William III. On 21 February 1702, he was riding his horse at Hampton Court when it tripped on a molehill and threw him to the ground. He broke his collarbone and developed pneumonia which killed him two weeks later. And it was said that his enemies in Scotland raised toasts to 懀he little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat�!

ISO 100, 1/80 sec at f/5.6, focal length 18mm.

quovadis, maloutim, jemaflor, papagolf21, holmertz, Fis2, CLODO, jean113, Royaldevon, jhm, Ilonka1974 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

quovadis (5711) 2020-05-22 20:09

Hi John.

Thanks for this "gruesome" photograph, in fact, a sign of human cruelty, even if the little creatures cause some problems, a not acceptable behaviour. TFS!!!

maloutim (13617) 2020-05-22 22:26

Hi Ian,
Definitely barbaric !
They might be a nuisance to farmers, but they can also be useful "Moles have an important role in the garden: they ventilate the soil and limit the number of pests such as grubs, slugs, mole crickets, and other vegetable pests."
Kind regards.
Marie-Louise.

emka (157280) 2020-05-22 22:47

hello John,

What the cruel sight! I agree that the gardeners can have problems with moles and it is difficult to get rid of them. But to kill them and show like this is a barbarity. Interesting story about king William III. I didn't know it.
Some of my friends have problems with beavers. They are protected animals, smart, but make considerable damages.
Excellent picture but I do not like this view.

Have a nice weekend

MAlgo

PS. I found in Google the view of the monument of the king with the molehill.

Silvio1953 (220553) 2020-05-22 22:49

Ciao caro John, really a sad view, excellent clarity, wonderful colors and fine details, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

jemaflor (146258) 2020-05-22 23:33

Hi John,
A well photographed view, perfect sharpness and colors contrast but a bit disturbing with these animals hanging like that, tfs.

papagolf21 (152605) 2020-05-22 23:40

Bonjour, cher John,
Une image difficile, mais cela rel鋦e parfois d'un m彋ier, celui de taupier.
Tr鋊 bonne note d'accompagnement.
Amiti廥.
Philippe

ifege (46891) 2020-05-23 0:00

Hi John
Yes- a gruesome but good image. In Australia it is feral foxes that get hung this way (but they are real pests here). This must be the first photo of moles on TE - pity it had to be this way.
cheers
Ian

holmertz (101956) 2020-05-23 0:54

Hello John,
This is probably one of the most unusual photos I have seen on TE. It is absolutely not nice, but quite interesting and strangely fascinating. The moles hanging from the barbed wire make me think of publicly executed witches with long black dresses. It really looks like a medieval practice with no obvious purpose today. Are they supposed to scare the moles still alive and make them come to their senses and stop their harmful habits?
Very strange.
Kind regards,
Gert

Fis2 (169679) 2020-05-23 0:55

Witaj John!
Very awful view!
Mole is a useful animal.

Very impressive picture!
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

CLODO (45116) 2020-05-23 1:31

Hi John

Very interrogative: why?
I never saw a mole, I discover they have a long body, I was aware of their front sharp fingers, a good tool to dig the earth.
Maybe it's an offer for some birs of prey?
Cheers
CLODO

jean113 (27633) 2020-05-23 2:24

Hello John, such strange little creatures, and what a lot of damage they can do.
I remember seeing one above ground on a campsite in France; we watched as it tried to move across the grass and find its way back underground.
This is not a𥙑retty� picture, but it does teach us alongside your notes, about the mole.
Many years ago, we had a neighbour who prided himself on a perfect lawn, needless to say the moles liked to spoil his pristine garden! They didn㦙 appear to touch ours!,

Very informative notes; it had never occurred to me that they might alter the water course/ drainage of the land, or contaminate animal feed. There must be some benefits to nature?

Kind regards, Jean.

Royaldevon (85606) 2020-05-23 2:55

Hello John,

It really is quite barbaric to string dead animals out on a fence, almost as a warning to others! (Oh but the other moles will be underground.)

Yes moles can be a problem but they also have uses:
Moles aren't all bad. In fact, they're 99 per cent good.
They eat mostly grubs, which are undesirable, because grubs eat the roots of your plants and moles give you free fertiliser and aerate your soil.
So, I suppose it's a bit like an equation, some good/some bad.

I have a feeling that you intended to stir us up, and make us think objectively about what you witnessed! And ... it has worked.

I can't object to the quality of your photograph, which is spot on, for excellent use of the shallow dof and fine, natural colours.

Have a lovely w/e and keep safe (no burrowing underground or look what the outcome could be) Bev :-)

Tue (91536) 2020-05-23 7:27

Hello John,
Oh dear, what a sad view of those three moles hanging from the barbed wire. I understand that they cause damage and that farmers try everything to get rid of them, but like you wrote in your note, displaying them like this like trophies is horrible. They will hardly help to scare away other moles, will they? Technically, this is a very good photo with excellent sharpness and clarity.
Lars

jhm (211734) 2020-05-23 10:00

Hello John,

A gruesome sight seen about, formerly where farmers or other people very superstitious.
Moles keep the meadows free of worms and allow the grass to grow better, yes, also some mole heaps
But the picture that much people shall do scare
Composition and presentation are superb.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

mkamionka (73316) 2020-05-24 12:06

Hi John,
I like your other recent photos in your gallery much more but this was quite extraordinary!
I don't think I have ever seen a mole before. They appear quite large in this photo, and you have certainly made an interesting repeated motif of their bodies.
I remember when as a child I was spending holidays with my family in the countryside and once in their potato field they have seen a mouse, they jumped immediately to kill it. It was a shocking sight for me, a city boy.
Having said that, I worked in a lab of a professor who was specializing in coronavirus proteins. He was a VIP in China during the SARS outbreak, I suppose he was now again. But I worked on proteins from Lassa virus. It is causing a hemorrhagic fever, and there is no cure. Viruses like Lassa and many other are safe for rodents who transmit them but deadly for humans. In West Africa where Lassa still occasionally outbreaks, rats are a delicacy, hence a problem... I remember an amusing statistic from Ghana: question: what do you do when you kill a rat:
1. you bury it
2. you burn it
3. you eat it

The last answer was the most popular answer...
I don't think moles are rodents but killing pests made me think of that also in the context of the coronavirus...

Best regards,
M

Ilonka1974 (10289) 2020-05-25 12:46

Hi John,
Sad view of these animals .
Excellent presentation.
Perfect composition.
Well done.
Best regards
Janusz

Photo Information

Copyright: John Cannon (tyro) (30513)
Genre: 地方
Medium: 彩色
Date Taken: 2017-05-17
Camera: Canon EOS M, Canon EF-M 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS STM, Hoya 52mm Pro1D Protector
Exposure：30 seconds
Photo Version：Original Version
Date Submitted: 2020-05-22 14:34