Battle of the molecatchers: Garden pest killer accuses lady rival of 'mafia tactics' as bizarre feud rocks little-known industry
- Louise Chapman is Norfolk's 'very own Lady Mole Catcher' and runs the British Mole Catchers Register
- She has been blasted by rival Ann Chippendale, who runs the Association of Professional Mole Catchers as an embarrassment
- But Ms Chapman insists the feud is simply because Ms Chippendale wanted the business for free instead of paying for it
It is a murky underground world that involves digging a lot of dirt and setting traps for the enemy.
But these molecatchers aren’t the double-dealing spies of John Le Carre novels. Their quarry isn’t human, merely the pesky burrowing mammal that digs up lawns and damages plants.
Yet the molecatching business is not immune from cloak-and-dagger rivalry and claims of treachery. It has led to a bitter clash involving two of Britain’s half-dozen female molecatchers, with accusations of lack of professionalism, shoddy animal welfare and ‘mafia’ tactics.
Louise Chapman, a molecatcher, admits she has 'shaken up' her profession. She is pictured here with her dog who accompanies her throughout her daily work calls
The feud centres on three organisations that represent or train those employed in the lucrative trade, where each kill can be worth £60.
Ann Chippendale, who founded the Association of Professional Mole Catchers, claims her rival Louise Chapman, head of the British Mole Catchers Register, is ‘an embarrassment to proper professional molecatchers’.
Miss Chapman claims her detractor, who used to belong to the Register, is ‘deranged’ and jealous of her because she is a newcomer.
Meanwhile the Guild of British Mole Catchers is suggesting its rivals fail to check traps every day as they should to prevent unnecessary suffering to moles. It in turn is accused of inventing the title ‘master molecatcher’ to drum up business.
Details of the squabble surfaced, bizarrely, in one of the most respected US publications, the Wall Street Journal. It said Lancashire-based Miss Chippendale, 55, questioned Miss Chapman’s professionalism.
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The mole catching industry is regulated by three trade bodies who have all become involved in some form of insult trading in the last few weeks. File photo of a mole
The Register’s training was flawed, she claimed, as members were being given ‘inaccurate information on mole breeding’. This is believed to refer to Norfolk-based Miss Chapman’s belief that female moles bred twice this year – instead of the normal once.
Miss Chippendale told the WSJ: ‘She’s taking their money but she’s not really doing the work. I am not happy about it and would say things to her face.’
Miss Chapman, 48, told the Mail: ‘I’ve got no idea why she’s doing this. I don’t bad-mouth people because I’m a professional. Those that do, obviously aren’t and feel threatened in some way.’
Martin Noble who is Secretary of the Guild of British Mole Catchers said he is trying to promote the right way of mole catching
The former teacher, who began training for the job in 2010, said anonymous messages have been left on her phone, including one that said: ‘You keep off my patch. If not, there will be trouble.’
She claims rivals dislike her because she is an outsider who has ‘shaken things up’ by exposing underhand tactics such as taking dead moles to jobs and claiming they were freshly caught.
The divorcee – seen this year on Dave TV’s Deadliest Pests Down Under tackling crocodiles and snakes – suspects someone from the Association reported her to the Advertising Standards Authority, claiming her slogan ‘Norfolk’s only lady molecatcher’ was untrue.
Miss Chapman changed it to ‘Norfolk’s very own lady molecatcher’. She dismissed the Guild’s animal welfare claims, saying modern traps kill moles instantly.
Guild secretary Martin Noble, 56, also from Norfolk, said: ‘We’re trying to promote the right way of mole-catching.’
He said it was the first rift among molecatchers for more than a decade.
When approached yesterday, Miss Chippendale claimed she had been misrepresented in the WSJ but declined to elaborate.
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