The Alcoholic Wasteland that is Britain in the 21st Century

From the Guardian (Online Edition): Printing technology has moved on, but some of the old what-the-hell-is-it thrill returned this week when the Macclesfield Express published an alleged picture of a badger. It was from footage shot in the town centre by local resident Simon Churchman, 38, after seeing an animal on his way home from the pub.

I have to wonder what is happening when

1. protected species would rather spend their evenings in the pub than preparing for winter in the set¹ with their mates as they did when I was a lad
2. Newspaper editors are either so afraid of being sued or so drunk they cannot positively identify a picture as a picture

Hell in a handbasket.

1: The proper name for a badger nest