The crowdfunder for a legal challenge of SNH’s licensing of a Raven cull has made great progress – over 16,000 pounds and counting.
I donated to this crowdfunder on its first day and I’d really like it to meet its target of 25k. So I’ve gone back and given it a top-up from me. Can you help please?
By many of us giving a little bit, we can take on the might of government, industry and vested interests. That’s what this is all about. Good luck to Ruth Tingay and the Scottish Raptor Study Group – but they need our cash as well as our best wishes.
Please donate here.
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There seems to be a source of confusion in part of the appeal statement which implies that funds beyond the initial 10k will only be requested if the first stage is successful in its implementation. More awareness of how the system works might be useful including what happens in the event of a target shortfall. I would hate to see the SGA have something to ‘crow’ about!
Yes, like you, we had made an initial contribution with the intention of seeing how it went and then making another if the second stage proceeded. Surely the first £10k was required in order to see if the case could proceed and hence there seemed little point contributing more unless it moved into a definite go situation. There may be a few of us awaiting clarification and prepared to dig deeper and canvas more widely.
It’s interesting – the total shot up to about £12,500 on just the second day of asking, but now seems to have stalled somewhat.
Could one reason for the slowdown be that RPUK itself has been silent since 6th June? Is Ruth just having a well-deserved holiday, or is there a problem? A quiet period like this is unusual for such an active (and informative) blog.
Thank you so much for promoting this again Mark.
By coincidence, I looked at the site yesterday evening to see how it was getting on. The fact that it had only reached little over 16k with 692 supporters, having raised the first 10k in 14 hours, shows how important continued promotion is.
That said, the last blog on the RPUK site was on the 6th. This may be due to holidays or just overwork, but since the SNH recently responded to an FOI request with an answer running to 205 pages (though much of it repeated email trails), it is vitally important that somebody comments on this.
Some of the emails highlight just how unscientific the evidence actually was for issuing the licence, and how those in authority are bending over backwards to help gamekeepers in their aims.
On the surface, this issue is about a raven cull based on anecdotal evidence only, it is however far more than that.
At the moment, the people that govern us believe that they can do whatever they wish to our wildlife. They believe that they have a right to trash our uplands, kill whatever gets in their way, cause untold environmental damage, all to maintain their ‘right’ to kill birds for ‘sport’.
If you wish to tell them differently, then please give whatever you can to this cause. Show them they are being watched. If we don’t, their will be more ‘trials’ like this, on more species they want rid of. One of them has already said as much.
With only 17 days to raise a further £8700, please give and please promote in any way you can.
Does anybody know anything about the England Raven cull? I saw this in the Sunday Times today:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/michael-gove-allows-farmers-to-cull-protected-ravens-8fzpwxm5f
Headline: “Michael Gove allows farmers to cull protected ravens”
Second sentence:
“Michael Gove, the environment secretary, has issued licences for farmers to shoot the birds in Derbyshire, Lancashire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Dorset.”
This article appeared in Farmers Weekly in May 2016 so something’s been brewing for a while.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/sheep/row-erupts-calls-raven-cull-protect-sheep
It would be nice know what the decision making process was for this one. It seems like there’s a war going on against these birds.
I despair. Warm words about how “we” have got to do something about the environment count for nothing when the reality is that humanity continues to see nature as something to exploit and kills anything that gets in the way. Homo sapiens is doomed to go the same way as every other hominid species to date. “Wise man” my a*se
Does anybody know anything about the England Raven cull? I saw this in the Sunday Times today:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/michael-gove-allows-farmers-to-cull-protected-ravens-8fzpwxm5f
Headline: “Michael Gove allows farmers to cull protected ravens”
Second sentence:
“Michael Gove, the environment secretary, has issued licences for farmers to shoot the birds in Derbyshire, Lancashire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Dorset.”
This article appeared in Farmers Weekly in May 2016 so something’s been brewing for a while.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/sheep/row-erupts-calls-raven-cull-protect-sheep
It would be nice know what the decision making process was for this one. It seems like there’s a war going on against these birds.
How apt this has become. Today I find out Wiltshire raven can now be culled as well as those in a few other counties. How many birds and why I don’t know. I suppose we have to go through the same foi again. This is getting ridiculous, they have only recently built up their numbers.
I think a vote of no confidence in Mr Gove is now due.
Whatever the “authorities” say, game management and the farming community say Ravens rarely if ever kill sheep or lambs. They do however eat dead ones! I don’t know about the other counties but there are relatively few Ravens in Lancashire and I am incensed by this pointless attack on a just recovering range and numbers bird. “LEAVE OUR RAVENS ALONE” is all I can politely say and yes I have contributed to the appeal. The only “bete noir” in the countryside are not birds but men in tweed!
To comment further I see Ravens almost every day usually amongst sheep and lambs, including our own. They seem to eat afterbirths, insects attracted to dung, pelleted sheep food if given the chance and dead things be they sheep, lambs or the remains of fox or raptor kills. I and my partner who has lived here much longer than I have never seen or heard of a problem with them. On the other hand game management doesn’t like them at all, I once asked a young keeper why this was so. He said they take fewer chicks or eggs than crows or magpies but they were still bloody evil black crows and didn’t understand why he was not allowed to kill them. Says it all really, ecology by prejudice!
There is no information about this on http://www.scottishraptorstudygroup.org
The original target of £10,000 was reached within 24 hours. The ‘stretch’ target was not publicised…
I see Ravens almost every day usually amongst sheep and lambs.
What a disgrace and more proof that most farmers are half wits that have no idea/don’t care about how to farm in an environmentally friendly way, and further proof that the current lot in charge of this country are complete NFU stooges that care not one iota about wildlife or the natural world in this country.
I mean >20 million sheep and < 8000 ravens, and these fools want to cull the ravens.
It's time that people in charge of departments such as DEFRA were actually qualified to be there. I don't know maybe introduce physiological and critical thinking examinations for anyone wanting to be a politician and further department specific knowledge exams for anyone wanting to be in charge of a government department. I doubt gove or half the corrupt fools in this government know the difference between a raven and a lamb.