I’ve been rushing about and don’t quite have time to write a proper blog today – plenty more coming in the next few days though! – and you did get two blogs on Tuesday, so please indulge me when I just post most of an email that a reader of this blog sent to me:
‘I waste (?) hours reading your blog and love your writing, keep up the good work. The wild world needs help, all it can get. Thank something or other (not God) for the McCarthys, Attenboroughs Cockers, you and all the other naturalists who try and make us aware of the destruction that we are causing our planet. I really believe that conservationists need to be more hard hitting, less touchy feely, perhaps more like anti’s such as James Bartholomew (Daily Telegraph). Read him and one realises what we are up against.‘.
That’s a very nice email to receive and I thank the person who sent it.
The readership of this blog keeps increasing so I may be doing something right. And it seems likely to increase by another one as someone I met in Newcastle yesterday said to me ‘I’m going to have to start reading your blog every day as our chief exec does and then comes in and expects to know what we think about it!’.
[registration_form]
Following on from the problems of delays by DEFRA on the designation of marine conservation zones, I notice in the current issue of “Otis” the magazine of the Group Bustard Group (GRB), there is an article headed in bold type “DEFRA INDECISION”. THe GRB is of course concerned with the reintroduction of the Great Bustard using chicks brought from Russia (like sea eagles from Norway). They have been struggling with DEFRA since the project started 7/8 years ago to have the species given the highest level of protection under Shedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. A section of the article in the Otis magazine says,
“despite the requirements of an EU Directive on the matter , the general result from the meeting (recently with DEFRA) was the explanation that no addition could be made to a law until an old law was dispensed with. This was a new and different response to the question that had been asked so many times before.”
Sounds so similar to the marine issues. It really makes you wonder about DEFRA and whether they are really interested in helping our struggling wildlife at all!!
Conspiracy or incompetence ? The latter, I suspect. Right across Government the new politicians are finding there’s a bit more to making things happen than big speeches. With an increasing proportion of professional politicians who’ve never done anything but politics managerial skills seem to be in even shorter supply than usual.
Really very nice e-mail you got Mark just do not think you need to be any harder hitting as think you are quite brutal when the cause needs it and it can sometimes put people off if it is practised all the time.