To do

Mark 24 Comments

This morning’s blog has attracted lots of comments – as raptor-related blogs almost always do.

If you feel strongly about this issue then why not write to your MP about it.  There is an excellent letter in the comments to this morning’s blog (by MK) to his (her? I suspect his) MP Alistair Burt (who is the MP whose constituency includes the RSPB HQ of Sandy, and who is an extremely nice man).

But here is my letter to my relatively new MP, Andy Sawford.

 

Dear Andy

Happy New Year!

You may have seen coverage in today’s Independent newspaper of the potential funding threat to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/wildlife-crime-unit-faces-extinction-over-funding-crisis-8437875.html?origin=internalSearch).

Early Day Motion 603 refers to this matter and has so far been signed by 108 MPs.  I am asking you to add your name to this EDM.

At present 62 Labour MPs compared with 4 Conservative MPs have signed the EDM.

This is an issue for us here in Corby and East Northants as well as nationally.  The magnificent red kites which soar over Corby, Oundle, Raunds and Thrapston are still too often killed by illegal poisoning, just as hen harriers and golden eagles are threatened in the uplands of Britain. We need to do a lot more to protect our native and cherished wildlife so cutting off funding from the National Wildlife Crime Unit would be just playing into the hands of criminals.

If you are not prepared to sign this EDM I would like to hear a full explanation for your reasons but I very much hope that you will.

Yours sincerely

Mark

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24 Replies to “To do”

  1. I recently had a letter from my MP about Bowland Betty in which he extols the virtues of the NWCU but I note that he hasn’t signed the EDM yet…will be asking him why.

    1. David – good for you. Thank you. EDMs are non-binding but they demonstrate interest in a subject so the more signatures the better. Ministers and members of the government or Shadow ministers can sign EDMs but normally don’t – I don’t know whether that applies to your MP but there is no harm in asking any MP to sign an EDM – it gets it on their radar.

  2. I bet on Andy’s Sawfords secretary/pa’s computer she/he has a standardised e-mail/letter response it’s in the document folder saved under “standard non-commital response” and will probably waffle on about his concerns for “not only nature”, “but the general enviroment” “but haven’t had the chance the read the EDM”, blah,blah,blah…I would love to be wrong but fear not. I wait with baited breath for the response.

    2. Douglas
      As you would expect, MPs receive an awful lot of correspondence so the initial response you get to your letter is indeed likely to be a standard letter from a secretary or an automated reply to an e-mail. However, my experience is that they will respond properly in time (although of course there’s no guarantee that they will agree with you when they do) and, where relevant, will also raise the issue with the relevant Minister. MPs are elected officials who normally hope to be re-elected so they are sensitive to the issues that concern their constituents (especially in marginal constituencies). For every person that writes to them on a topic they can usually be sure that there are quite a few more people who think the same way but have not got round to writing.

  4. Mark ,
    I can hardly extort people to write to their MP’s about raptor persecution without doing so myself on this very important related issue.
    On a different subject , one of the things I really wanted to achieve this year was to see an otter well on one of my local reserves. I had marvellous views of a female to evenings ago, this may bodes well for wildlife this year in North Yorkshire?

    1. Paul – congratulations on the otter. I’ve seen them teice on my local patch here in east Northants but not for several years so I’ll be keeping my eyes open for them too. The last I saw was chasing a moorhen along the riverbank.

  5. I wrote to my MP (Rachel Reeves: Labour-Leeds West) on this issue in May 2012. I received an acknowledgement (automatic) saying that she had received my correspondence but since then, nothing.

    I’ll write again but my suspicion is that urban MPs don’t see wildlife crime as an issue, even though globally, it is second only to the drugs trade in terms of economics.

    Richard

  6. Email sent.
    The last time I wrote to my MP (David Rutley) was over Buzzardgate. I was impressed with his considered reply, particularly as I’m fairly certain that he knows that I am never likely to vote for him. His reply wasn’t especially prompt which I can understand as conscientious MPs are very busy people, although I did receive a series of email updates from his secretary apologising for the delay and advising me when I could expect to receive a reply, which again was impressive.

  7. As it appears that the uncertainty over over the future of the NWCU is dependant on a relatively small sum of money in the grand scheme of things (£136k), if the Home Office refuse to sign off the budget then would it be possible or even legal for the wildlife NGO’s to step in with the funding ? Wouldn’t this be Big Society in operation ?
    It would be interesting to see how such an offer would be regarded by the Govt. and may flush out the Govts real thinking on this, e.g. perhaps this is really about ideology rather than economics ?

    1. Joe, I suspect the simple answer is yes they could. I wouldn’t regard it as Big Society but more like a stepping aside by those charged with enforcing our legislation. Your ideas have been done before and that is why we now have a wildife crime network, partnership against wildife crime and NWCU; all this was initially pushed and prime funded by the RSPB and others in the mid 80s and without them it wouldn’t have got off the ground. I personally wouldn’t like to see this going back to the days when we relied on charities to fund this type of work.

      1. Bob, you are right of course, the NWCU is the Govts responsibility and it would be a shameful abdication of duty if they decided to cease funding it.
        However it is good to know that should the worst happen then the NWCU could be kept going by external funding if absolutely necessary.

  8. Does the NWCU cover Scotland? My MP is Pete Wishart (snap) who has a standard letter on his computer explaining that he doesn’t vote on England only issues. This makes me feel totally disenfranchised as I am a citizen of the UK and am just as concerned about wildlife in England as Scotland.

  9. Email sent to Mr. Neil Carmichael MP and automated response (promising a letter in due course) received. There is normally a significant delay in receiving such a letter and it does not always materialize. I email him from time to time on various conservation issues and never fail to remind him that he is part of the “Greenest Government Ever” which is usually ignored.

    I am also still waiting for the Information Commissioner to give a decision on my complaint regarding English Nature’s failure to let me have Andrew Wood’s witness statement about Walshaw Moor; I don’t know if any one else has had a response from the Information Commissioner on this matter?

    Progress certainly seems to be painfully slow and impeded by many obstacles when it comes to trying to get something done about raptor persecution!

  10. Job Done – I pointed out that in the Year of Natural Scotland it would be a poor show to reduce the effort in tackling wildlife crime – and I also pointed out that the missing hen harriers and golden eagles mean that people – both visitors and residents – have less chance of seeing these fantastic birds – so we are all victims of this crime – and indeed the Scottish tourism economy is also a victim – as if there were more of them then they could be a great attraction and more businesses could capitalise on the likelihood of seeing them.

  11. I should’ve said I approached my MP (a Tory) sometime ago about the Wildlife Crime Unit and how underfunded they currently were. I too got the automated response not to different from another letter I received from him about a seperate issue, the only real difference was the date at the top of the letter. And of course I sent him another email regarding the same topic today, so probably won’t receive a response until after the weekend. Out of all the people on here I would be very interested to see the response, how similar they are or how different they might be, I would like to see if any of them agree to what is suggested at the parties they represent etc
    As for politicians being very busy, well it appears that some of more then one job and have about the same amount of holidays as teachers (when they’re not appearing on comedy/quiz panel shows or being dropped into a jungle) as for funding by NGO’s for the wildlife crime unit I think it can’t be done as it would be a conflict of interests and isn’t allowed it would be like the EDL funding the immigration service….

  14. Last time I wrote to my MP (about life imprisonment for drivers who kill cyclists) I got a standard-looking namby pamby wishy washy lacklustre dreary anodyne on-message reply – so I won’t be writing to him again unless to request that he grows a pair.

    1. Mark – thanks for the compliment. You guessed right – MK is a he. 🙂 I’ll try to persuade Mrs MK to write too …

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