Cry havoc and let slip the badgers of war

Official denial is always the best way to concrete a rumour in place.  In this case, it's Major David Gell doing the denying on behalf of the British army in Basra, southern Iraq.  He says:

“We have not released giant badgers in Basra"

How much would you pay to have a serious military spokesman say something that gloriously daft?  It pretty much confirms that the Brits have a dastardly plan to destabilise the region by importing Kalahari Ratels (that's Honey Badgers to you and me), leaving this mustelid plague to, er, root through bins and crack open any beehives they come across. 

Of course the real reason for the appearance of ratels is regional environmental change and, I'll wager, the fact that people are fighting a bloody great war all over their patch.