33,575*
Thank you to the 33,574 of you who also signed my (our) e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting.
This sends a message to government and the grouse shooting industry that things need to change.
You have sent a strong message to wildlife NGOs that there is huge popular support for a much more radical solution to the management of our uplands and the protection of threatened wildlife than they are pursuing.
We are building a movement – and we will win!
We will be back – watch this space.
*Note:
The final total will creep up through the day as people click on the confirmation emails they have received.
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Tony McDougal was robbed!
m parry – indeed he was! So I will be offering both him and the winner, Colin McP, free books. It’s only fair.
perhaps Colin McP is a hacker and ended the petition early so he could win!
I’d have been much more subtle 😉
Two thirds signed after the Government’s response……….clearly they were not reassured or satisfied by the government’s words of wisdom.
Circus – that’s a very good point. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Many thanks.
I was pleased that my estimate which seemed wildly optimistic a fortnight ago was surpassed by a country mile. The final push this week has been rewarding. It’s kind of fitting that the government should sneak in under the cover of darkness and end the e-petition prematurely. Perhaps they employ grouse moor gamekeepers. Huge congratulations to Mark Avery for championing this cause like no other. A famous Churchillian turn of phrase (This is not the end…) is appropriate right now. We will win!
When I checked at midnight last night the total was 33133 which got me quite excited!
It appears that the map and constituency counts are no longer available which is a pity!
This was one bet I was very happy to loose. I’m also quite sure that both Colin and Tony were hoping to loose as well.
How did it end early? I feel another FoI coming on.
I’m sure, Mark, your already planning the next petition. Certainly your next move. And using social media will only make the next one easier. Just look at the success sites like ‘Sum of Us’ are having.
However, for now, the thing that I have learnt from the last few months is that our NGOs are not fit for purpose! It is also very clear that many people agree with me.
What exactly does RSPB stand for? R? Well yes, because it conjures up a reminder of Sandringham. S? Iffy that one, supposed to mean a gathering of like minded people. Clearly not the case. P? Got to be persecution then. B? Well birds of course, eg, Hen Harrier, Buzzard, Peregrine etc.
Mike Clarke, Helen Ghosh, Stephanie Hilborne, you should all be ashamed of yourselves this morning. Not a backbone amongst you.
But we havent lost, we just haven’t won YET.
If people out there really feel strongly that the RSPB no longer represents their views, maybe we should agree to do something together in October. Maybe we should all meet up at the AGM. We could talk to as many members as possible and ask if they knew of this petition and why they thought they hadn’t been informed by the RSPB.
Ditching your membership is absolutely not the answer. That’s just a kick in the teeth for all the good staff and volunteers. We must fight from within. It is after all, OUR society, not theirs. We must take our NGOs back.
RSPB members need to let the society know what they think. The next stage of this campaign should be to get the NGOs ‘onside’.
Let’s start here by responding to Martin Harper’s invitation to hear our views: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/martinharper/archive/2016/01/14/hh.aspx
Paul,if only you knew.
Martin often ends his blogs on Hen Harriers saying”I would love to hear your views”.
Complete rubbish as he only wants to hear views praising him.people who give critical views are dealt with by blocking them on his blogs.
He has been useless to Hen Harriers since taking up probably the second most important post at RSPB.
What a ridiculous setup when we have individuals like Mark,Chris and others working so hard for Hen Harriers while RSPB Conservation Officer seems to have no help to give in the fight to help the persecuted Hen Harrier.
Can’t think what you must have said Dennis. Just read all the comments on Martin’s blog about the HH plan. He takes some heavy criticism and posts some replies.
While we are deciding what to do next, how about getting the same momentum for Rob Sheldon’s petition. It’s now passed 10k and awaiting a government (non) response.
As I write this, I notice that Rob Sheldon’s petition to ban the use of lead shot still hasn’t reached 10500.
Again, this is down to the NGOs simply not promoting it. And this is even more bizzarre than not promoting Mark’s petition.
He is not asking anyone to stop shooting! He is not trying to spoil anybody’s ‘sport’!
He is simply asking that shooters be treated in the same way as fishermen were, years ago. The goverment knows that lead is dangerous otherwise it would never have been taken out of paint and petrol.
Difference is that birds don’t eat paint or petrol, they do eat lead shot.
Why on earth are our useless NGOs not asking members to sign! Aarrrrggghhhhhh!
This is a comment by Martin Harper posted on his RSPB blog following the Oxford Lead Symposium on Nov. 27th 2015:
“An e-petition has been set up asking for an end to lead ammunition use. This could be a further useful contribution to the debate, so please do go and look at this and consider adding your name. Showing Government there is a strong desire for action can only help encourage change which benefits wildlife and people. The petition is in line with RSPB policy and so we support it.”
Perhaps not the ringing endorsement you would like to see Paul but the advice is crystal clear!
Richard – you are right, of course. But as you have seen on this blog, it takes a good deal more effort than a brief and not very prominent mention in a not very prominent blog to ignite the passion of the RSPB’s 1.2 million members. The support of the RSPB is not worth very much if it is such inactive support. I gather that the RSPB is preparing itself to be more active, but it is leaving it rather late to stir itself.
I have no quarrel with the RSPB over their lack of support for my e-petition. Banning driven grouse shooting is not the RSPB’s Council policy so they cannot be expected to support it. But banning lead ammunition is quite clearly the RSPB’s position so their lack of action to support Rob Sheldon’s e-petition is much more difficult to explain, rather difficult to excuse and really is quite worrying as a signal of the Society’s approach to being active in nature conservation.
Like you do, I find myself supporting the RSPB across the country when it is attacked. I do this partly through habit, partly through loyalty, partly through friendship to many former colleagues, but increasingly I do it with less enthusiasm because the RSPB is not playing as large a role as it could, and should, in some of these issues.
Mark – you too are right, of course. Many thanks for taking the time for a thoughtful and considered reply. It is a thankless task sometimes talking to RSPB members. Many seem to see the RSPB exclusively as a provider of reserves solely for their birdwatching requirements and avoid any political debate. When you talked to our local group about Martha and Hen Harriers, some members were astonished and outraged about the extinction of the passenger pigeon but criticised your ‘political’ stance on hen harriers without seeing a paradox!
Internet blogging is one way of communicating with a membership but I believe the RSPB demographic mediates against this as a prime source. Your own blog when you were still with the RSPB was widely read and stimulated much discussion (your spats with the likes of Sooty for instance, see above, we’re most entertaining). I regret that Martin hasn’t managed to retain the same impetus, although I find his blog essential reading. Members can, of course, opt to have an email reminder when Martin writes a new blog but I would be interested to know how many members have email accounts and use the web. Apropos that, these petitions can only be accessed on line and I know a good many that can’t do that. Many of your followers obviously migrated with you but you cannot command 1.2m! Don’t hear much these days from our old friend Red Kite.
Best wishes, Glossy Ibis.
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Excellent work Mark, well done, we’ve just got to keep on keeping on.
Show us our silver lining!
Great talk and nice to meet you too, let’s hope those undergraduates go on to great things.
On the .gov website it says “MPs might consider your petition for a debate before it reaches 100000 signatures”
In reality what does this actually mean?
Glad to see they have reinstated the epetition, hope it hasn’t affected the last minute surge to much.
M Parry, keep your fingers crossed!!
The very wonderful Petitions Unit has over-ruled its errant computer and the petition if now open again for its final day.
I live in an area where grouse moors are in profusion.
This is the type of reporting we see in our local newspaper…
http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/countryfile/14221230.Conservation_groups_try_to_put_the_record_straight_over_grouse_moors_and_flooding/
Thanks for highlighting this, Andy. I’ve commented briefly online – but I don’t think this gets into the print version. Still, please can others comment to counteract this twisting of the facts? Especially the ludicrous headline.
The Johnson Press is very pro-rich landowner/vested interests in my opinion and unfortunately most local newspapers are run by them now. If we just sit back and let this stuff get printed time and again, the ordinary man/woman in the street is never going to believe what is really happening and therefore our cause will never get their support.
Please, please get emailing the Craven Herald. Especially if you live in the area as I do.
That’s two full divisions in the barracks and a fine lot they are too. I can’t help wondering what difference a mere platoon deployed in the field and drilling on a grouse moor on shoot days would make though. Pipes, drums, and regimental colours in the High Peak come August anyone?
Fantastic achievement – I look forward to playing my role in the next steps. Hopefully this sends a clear message to the owners and managers of driven grouse moors that the writing is on the wall.
Unlike the wildlife that you persecute – your days are numbered.