One thing I noticed about the BAWC conference was a refreshing lack of nervousness about standing up to the large landowners. Almost everywhere else one goes one hears individuals and large powerful organisations fretting about what the landowners might say.
Just saying…
I wonder what Henry thinks…
#haveyouseenHenry?
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Critical mass could call (again) for reform of CAP subsidies or a review and push for independent monitoring that recipients are delivering positives for the environment, for nature and for the wildlife beloved of all not just the few?
That is excellent Mark. I have always thought that for too long the conservation movement has been to reluctant to challange land owners sufficiently. After all it may be their land but it is everyone’s wildlife that is on it, not theirs. Obviously one needs to be civil in these challanges but making it clear that civility is not a sign of weakness.
(By the way is there anywhere where one can read a report of the BWAC conference?)
It always interested me how much traditional landowning attitudes infiltrated NGO/ public sector landowning bodies – including RSPB and NT. It showed most vividly in attitudes towards public access. Because foresters were brought up deep within the landowning ethic the Forestry Commission was one organisation that did not always follow the party line – it was probably the only major landowner where you had to argue to restrict access rather than open it up and there was also a support for protecting raptors that came from deep within the staff group, not fed down from the top. When a proposal came to seek licenses to take a single chick from Peregrine nests on FC land for falconry I was quite taken aback by the ferocity of the response (against !) from the people in the forests who were protecting Peregrines. In Thetford a very small group of foresters concealed the first nesting Goshawk from everyone for 3 (successful breeding) years before a colleague not in on the secret unwittingly gave the game away – after which we fought a battle against nest robberies for several years.
Funnily enough bumped into an MSP last week who is about to jump ship and go over to Scottish Greens. We got talking about Scottish Estates and he was the one who brought up issue of raptor persecution and the derisory fines for rare convictions. Leaders in his old party despite pushing by MSPs really shied off from treating landowners fairly, i.e. the same as everyone else who breaks the law. Hardly news, but good to have it confirmed by MSP, so much for just and democratic society. And yes Roderick Forestry Commission staff are excellent. Just came back from an event where several took part, generally years ahead of everyone else.