I know I mention Twitter a lot here, and some readers are completely familiar with it and others completely bemused. This little post will sort out which side of that divide you are on!
BASC, the Bullying Aggressive Shooting Community (or something like that), suggested to their followers that they should take a selfie (photograph of themselves) enjoying the Inglorious 12th and post it on Twitter with the hashtag #twelfie (a hashtag is a label for which you can search on Twitter to see all the posts which have used it). I can no longer find the topless shooter giving it both barrels – that one made me smile.
But the folk at raptor politics suggested another use for #twelfie…
…which resulted in this sort of thing…
…and this…
…which may have been a bit of a surprise to the likes of the Chelsea Bun Club and others. In fact the hashtag #twelfie was dominated by images of illegally and legally killed animals, and protests on the moors and in London.
No, it’s been a really bad few days for the grouse shooters.
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See their ruddy faces become positively purple with rage as we stopped their sick fun was most amusing.
When they called the police and then refused to accept any word from them until a more senior officer arrived just showed the arrogance of these people but with most of the moors being open access we exercised our right to be there and the police told them to go home.
It turned out to be probably the most expensive picnic they’d ever hosted.
It’s been a really bad few days for some, only they don’t really know it yet.
Most importantly, I think it’s been a really bad time for you, and I’ll tell you why-
It is now abundantly clear just how small your genuine support actually is. I know that the 123,000 who signed your last petition is a very convenient crutch for you to lean on, but if you assess how that came to be, and more importantly how many of those people actually understand all that’s involved, that number drops dramatically.
Take the Hen Harrier days as an example. The first was attended by just over 500. The subsequent days have been divided over a number of events, each actually quite poorly attended, in some cases struggling to fill a village hall. The first two Petitions failed to garner sufficient support, and if it wasn’t for Chris Packham the third would have floundered as well. You have a lot to thank Mr. Packham for.
By organising your campaign, and making it about animal cruelty, you have managed to get people to actually make the effort to click a link, but little more than that. As the poster boy for these sorts of campaigns, Chris has a great deal of support from people who hate to see animals suffer, but then shop at the supermarket for processed and often Halal slaughtered meat, without ever fully understanding the irony of their actions. My mother is the same. She loves Chris. She clicked the link. She is quite partial to chicken, but wouldn’t dream of paying the extortionate price of a free range one at Asda though. I wonder how many more people like that signed your petition.
There were others on social media who believed that grouse were an imported bird who clicked the link. The support is great, but only if they understand what the cause is actually about. Otherwise, let’s be honest, it doesn’t really count.
Last weekend’s march was actually an amalgamation of three different causes, with the other two being well supported and organised. Brian May’s ‘Save Me’ appeared to be by far the largest group, and would have accounted for at least half of those attending. Ban Fox Hunting is a very popular cause, and would number nearly the same, so if we are generous to assume that nearly 500 people attended, the number who were there to show their support for a ban on driven grouse shooting alone would have been no more than 50.
Yes, all of them want to see an end to animal cruelty, but are any of them actually aware of the economic impact of a ban for their respective causes? I doubt there is little economic damage done by a ban on fox hunting, but because there is now no longer any discouragement on shooting to leave foxes to hunt, foxes are shot with impunity. It would be a hard sell to suggest that a reinstatement of hunting would actually increase fox numbers but I’m sure there was no call to stop shooting during the march. After all, that would put the Vice President of the RSPB in a very difficult position, given that they too cull foxes to protect birds on their estates. In the case of the badger cull, the government has demonstrated that it believes that a cull is a viable solution, and won’t be swayed on the matter. If you can bring yourself to cast your mind back to the Westminster House debate, the government made their position very clear- the economic and conservation benefits of driven grouse shooting outweigh any other consideration. And a change of government won’t help your cause. As you have stated yourself, the Labour Party has no interest in the matter. And the chances of the Labour Party actually forming a government aren’t slim, they’re positively anorexic.
When we first conversed on Twitter during your first petition I asked you what you would do if driven grouse shooting was actually banned and very glibly you responded that you’d open a bottle of champagne. When I pressed you for a solution to the loss of rural jobs and income you described it as ‘small beer’. 2 Petitions later when the Petitions Committee asked you the same question the glib response and the ‘small beer’ jibe would just look arrogant, more importantly the Countryside Alliance had all the facts and figures to hand, and yet you still didn’t have a sensible answer. I doubt any of your 50 or so true supporters have an answer either.
But the chances are, when the Petitions Committee asked you, that was the last time your advice would be sought on the matter. You’ve managed to polarise the argument to the point at which no one from the shooting industry will give you the time of day. Even the RSPB appear to be uncomfortable in your presence so although you’ve managed to draw attention to the issue, you won’t actually be any part of a viable solution. And that’s because you’ve demonstrated on countless occasions that you have no idea, nor any interest in doing so.
Which is a shame for any scientist in his chosen field. Highlighting a problem is the easy part, establishing a viable solution is where the genuine skill is. Unfortunately your actions have divided the two communities to the point where the only solution will be the one the landowners have decided upon, and the more you continue on your chosen path, the more entrenched they will become. Unfortunately you’ve also now demonstrated just how small your genuine support actually is, there is little point in seeking your opinion on the matter.
You carry on marginalising yourself. Because that way, it won’t change a damned thing.
Paul – thanks for your very long comment.
Dear Mr Dale,
Citing economic benefit is an easy and lazy way to justify a wide range of unacceptable activities. There were clear economic benefits to historically using children in coal mines but that doesn’t make it OK. There are clear economic benefits (at least in the short term) to dumping pollutants in the air and the ocean rather than paying for proper disposal, but that doesn’t make it OK. There are clear economic benefits for companies to pay less than the minimum wage, but that doesn’t make it OK.
I notice that your post does not mention the cost of water quality degradation and increased flood risk due to peat damage. If these are offset against your supposed economics benefits then maybe the picture looks rather different.
The real question is whether the economic benefits outweigh the environmental and social costs. In this case it it appears to me that the value to our society of wildlife and healthy peat moorland is far greater than the small amount of money generated by a few people killing for pleasure. I also believe that, despite occasional setbacks, our society is slowly becoming kinder and more environmentally aware. In the long term, activities such as grouse shooting and foxhunting will disappear for good. For me that day can’t come soon enough.