Trouble for David: an RSPCA inspector calls about the dead badger he was seen dumping.

Radio Times: Trouble for David.

Characters: Alan, Alistair, Amy, RSPCA Inspector, Ruth, Shula

• Alan, the new vicar, and his daughter Amy are settling into the vicarage and gradually unpacking the boxes. She had planned to stay and do her room but when she learns that Dad has a meeting with a church warden (the one who runs a riding stable!) that sounds a more attractive option.
• At the Stables, Alistair is fitting security lights although Shula has a sense of “shutting the stable door …” since another livery customer has just decided to go elsewhere. Alistair wonders about getting a dog; it would please Daniel, who is feeling a bit neglected. Shula resolves to give his horsemanship more praise, and the dog – well, maybe!
• Alistair calls at Brookfield and finds Ruth examining a cow with a suspected sore foot. Knowing what vets charge she is bent on sorting it herself but accepts some free help. A policeman and an RSPCA inspector turn up; David is summoned by phone.
• When he arrives he is faced with the information that he was seen dumping a badger carcass; he admits that he killed the badger with a shotgun. After a heated but pointless argument about the connection between badgers and TB, the inspector explains that, until that link is established, in this country badgers are a protected species and to kill one is an illegal act. He must hand over his shotgun but declines the opportunity to have the badger examined by his own vet. He may be prosecuted. Why would “that bastard” Crawford do that; in his temper David resolves to ring Matt to make himself feel better. That, as Ruth points out, is just what he said when he shot the badger and look where that got him.