Guest blog – Puppet Sex and Stanley Johnson by Lyn Ebbs

By education and training I am a microbiologist and worked in the NHS and biotech sector. I finished my working career in clinical research and patient safety in the pharmaceutical industry, so am a firm believer in evidence-based science. I’ve been a member of the RSPB for many years and started volunteering for them when I retired. Latterly, I have become actively involved with campaigns such as the Rally for Nature and both Hen Harrier Days.

Highlights of the RSPB AGM 10 October 2015 – Puppet Sex and Stanley Johnson
This was my third RSPB AGM and, as previously, I found the displays professional; the staff and volunteers friendly and well-informed and the presentations loaded with stunning images. As a regular reader of (and commenter on) this blog, my particular interests were wildlife crime, EU laws protecting wildlife and habitats and, because it resonates with ‘A Message from Martha’, the decline of the turtle dove.

RSPB Chairman, Steve Ormerod, and International Operations Director, Tim Stowe, both mentioned different pressures on turtle doves. Between 2 and 4 million are shot across southern Europe each year, with the spring shooting in Malta an especially egregious example of unsustainable hunting. Meanwhile, the turtle doves’ current low numbers in the UK could simply be down to lack of suitable food compared with the 1960s – they have gone down from four to two nesting attempts per breeding season. Recent research has also found that most turtle doves harbour the trichomonas parasite which can kill both adults and nestlings. There was a comment from the floor that Valetta will be European City of Culture in 2018 and this would provide an opportunity to lobby the Maltese over the poor cultural image that spring hunting conveys. International Species Recovery Officer, Tara Proud, spoke on Saving the European Turtle Dove and the triple peril faced by the UK’s only migratory dove: loss of habitat in both its breeding areas and over-wintering grounds and unsustainable hunting while migrating between them. She showed a short video clip of a turtle dove roost in Senegal which can contain up to 35,000 birds – probably more than 100,000 in the past. It called to mind the loss of passenger pigeons and the hope that ‘our’ bird wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

Legislation may not seem the go-to topic for passionate enthusiasm and a good laugh but surprisingly it was. Kate Jennings from the RSPB Policy Team spoke about the amazing support that the RSPB’s Defend Nature Campaign had had – four times more than any previous campaign. The size has already had an impact. When EU Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, spoke at the opening of Jubilee Marsh on Wallasea Island he acknowledged the importance of strengthening and implementing the EU Nature Directives. Kate’s talk had followed on from the award of the RSPB Medal in the morning, which was one of the highlights of the day. The medal went to Stanley Johnson – journalist, author, environmentalist and former Conservative MEP – because of his role in the creation of the EU Habitats Directive. His acceptance speech and accompanying slightly shambolic slide show were hilarious but he had a serious message under the deceptively bumbling charm – he quoted page 54 of the Conservative Manifesto (I checked, it’s there: “Over the next five years, we will put in place stronger protections for our natural landscapes…”) and said that we must hold the government to its pledge.

Wildlife crime is always going to be a subject that makes me angry and depressed so it was good to be able to take some positives away from the day. Steve Ormerod mentioned the conviction of Scottish landowner, Ninian Stewart, under “vicarious liability” – the first case of its kind. The RSPB played a part in providing evidence that secured the first prison sentence for a gamekeeper (George Mutch) convicted of illegal killing – also in Scotland. But it was Jeff Knott’s presentation ‘Hope for Hen Harriers’ that produced the loudest applause of the day. With the help of his assistant, Gemma, and two knitted hen harrier puppets – male and female – he re-enacted this year’s breeding attempts, complete with sky-dancing, of Bowland-bred, Highlander, who hatched in 2014, and her three male partners. Highlander was incredibly persistent, being thwarted in each of her attempts at raising a brood: firstly by the ‘disappearance’ of her partner, then the inexperience of the second, and finally the natural predation of a brood with a third partner when the eggs were on the point of hatching. Jeff mentioned the e-petition on banning driven grouse shooting, and said, while the RSPB does not support a ban, he would encourage people to go and look at the issues involved and decide for themselves.

Other brief highlights were the appointment to Council of Sir John Randall, former MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, who spoke at the Rally for Nature last December; Stephen Moss being elected to Council; wildlife blogger, Findlay Wilde, mentioned by Miranda Krestovnikoff as a stand-out speaker at a reception for politicians in the summer and Lush Cosmetics selling hen harrier bath bombs which have already raised £76,000 for satellite tagging. Checking on the way home I saw that the e-petition had put on over 1000 signatures in the course of the day so was hopeful that, while it might take a lot of effort, we will win.

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