In a month’s time, if history is any guide, you will be publishing some puff pieces about grouse shooting and the Glorious 12th.
Be aware, that this year is different – public opinion is turning against this ecologically damaging ‘sport’ and largely economically irrelevant ‘industry’. This is what has changed since last year:
- Birdwatchers are organising events for the public to protest against criminal killing of Hen Harriers on grouse moors and by grouse moor interests. Hen Harrier Day will be 10 August 2014 and events are planned for the Peak District and Lancashire (and watch this space for others). Chris Packham is attending the Peak District event and will be available for interviews.
- Ethical Consumer magazine has called for a consumer boycott of companies involved in grouse shooting.
- An e-petition has been launched which calls for the banning of driven grouse shooting and is already in the most successful 2% of all e-petitions on the Government website after just 6 weeks.
- The RSPB regard burning of blanket bogs for intensive grouse shooting as ‘threatening to create a series of environmental catastrophes‘.
- The RSPB has complained to the EU over Defra’s handling of the Walshaw Moor case – intensive and damaging management of a protected habitat for grouse shooting.
- The Food Standards Agency has updated its advice for pregnant women and children in regard to eating game meat.
- The National Trust’s vision for its upland estate in the Peak District is moving away from the intensive management of the area for grouse shooting as it is not seen to deliver sufficient public benefit.
Here are some of the reasons why the public are turning against grouse shooting.
So the story can be different this year – ‘The public are gunning for grouse shooting!’.
BBC Countryfile Poll: 2 pm 14 July 2014
What do you think – overall, does the shooting industry do more good than harm to Britain’s wildlife?
YES 82% (29370 votes)
NO 8% (6330 votes)
NOT SURE 0% (130 votes)
Total votes: 35830
Your epetition? 7.5 k ish
Incidentally – Why does the RSPB shoot foxes and poison rats?
Trimbush – you are right to keep an eye on the e-petition because these things do make a difference. How many signatures by the Inglorious 12th do you predict?
Everyone is against crime
likewise wildlife crime
by your action you have divided them all rather than uniting them
birders against …….. eating corn flakes – you should get 2,000 to sign up for that
BAWC – single page website? domain name? – branding – punch line – you have some of these but disconnected – nothing wrong with your and 7.5 k others sentiment
BUT – it’s a mess !! Honest !
Top down – ‘business’ plan – 30 mins plann9ing – would have got you 15,000 by now – on any subject – with all your social media effort / contacts – so you should get your 10,000 (perhaps) but your efforts and theme do not deserve it. I suspect it’s trend is slowing down but with a Peak to follow
And you keep changing ‘driven grouse shooting’ to just ‘grouse shooting’ – suggests even you don’t know what you want – you’ve confused the message
Cheers
Ps why does RSPB shoot foxes and poison rats?
Trimbush – yeh well, it is more if a hobby than a job, after all. Terribly amateurish, I concede. But hardly started yet, of course. How many signs by 12 August would you guess?
9,999 is my guess
To many ‘hobbyists’ – like yourself – it’s more important to be seen doing the right thing well – I believe you care that much and more.
Hi Trimbush
Birders Against eating cornflakes? Clever remark, but I doubt you’d get 2000 sigs for that (us birders do like to keep breakfast simple so we can get out and see birds before someone flushes them). BAWC though is far more than a single page on a website. Come on over and have a look – as you say, everyone is against wildlife crime but not everyone knows what to do about it: we’re trying to make it easier for birders (everyone really) to recognise when a crime is being committed, know how to record it properly, and then who to report it to. Just one more element in the fight to tackle wildlife crime, but there’s far too much crime being committed to sit back and do nothing.
Oh, and while Mark and BAWC work together on some issues, we are quite separate entities – the ‘conflation error’ is maybe something we should look at, but you can see that out for yourself when you visit the website.
Cheers
Trimbush – and by the way, your maths or your typing are wrong. The ‘noes’ are 18% of the vote – it doesn’t pay to underestimate the other side…(even if they look puny to you – they may not be as puny as you thought)
Yes Mark – absolutely right – sorry about that
I cut n pasted it it get it right but backspaced too many – I still have it in WORD
Aplogies to all
I wonder how many people were misled by the wording of that question though – I bet a good proportion read it as ‘more harm than good’ (the usual way in which the phrase is worded), as indeed I did at first!
Trimbush,apology accepted although think majority of Mark’s followers would feel it was not needed as mistake made in good faith.
Do think that when you take such serious conflict with Mark and with so many comments(of course no crime there)then you are seriously worried so giving those who have signed the e-petition great satisfaction that it is worthwhile.
Lots of us also recognise that many shooting group members are also interested in wildlife in general.
What we object to is not legal activity but the many illegal acts carried out against raptors and seems talking will never stop that so other things have to be tried.
If you are against illegal acts against raptors then you should consider signing and surely others who are your friends will follow suit thus pushing those numbers on the petition you seem to belittle ever higher.
One thing for sure there is no confusion about the message Mark is sending out,it is perfectly understood.If the word “driven” has been missed off once or even occasionally then you would understand we all make mistakes as you confess to exactly that.
Mark,
Whilst your up in the Peak District on the 10th August, I advise you to make a point of stopping off in the Staffordshire Moorlands in order to quiz Potty Peter about his ‘Rural Army’ campaign.
His attempts to avert the hunting ban serve as a more than useful object lesson in how not to win friends and influence people. Find out exactly what he did and do the very opposite!
Typical comments from pro shoot/bloodsports , however many animals have been brutally slain (interestingly the anti badger cull movement described by country sports as being either criminal anti ‘toff’ unwashed benefit scroungers/a vegan movement to stop all animal use/ or oddly enough anti cattle – even that we like to see badgers dying slowly of TB) they always come up with the anti cruelty people displaying similar behaviour? However many intelligent, articulate dedicated campaigners try to stop this, the majority who give thoughtlessly of their time while holding down demanding jobs – they are put down and smeared.
Though I have spoken to decent gamekeepers who are not embroiled in this madness of slaughter and offence to the ‘antis’ those who use much worse methods bring it down. Also the anti RSPCA /RSPB campaign goes against the country sports cry of only wanting to get kids off their computer and into nature, tradition etc, why can’t they enjoy the outdoors without a gun, airgun attacks on people and animals cauing trouble, leave the ‘Born to Shoot’ babygrow at home once in a while ?:)
http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/crime/gamekeeper-fined-for-wilfully-killing-badger-1-3422634 http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/8908822.Gamekeeper_jailed_for_horrific_fox_attack/ http://www.antisnaring.org.uk/news/snares/royal-gamekeeper-snares-badger