Over 900 of you have responded to this easy, online survey about attitudes to rewilding, grouse shooting, climate change and a few other issues https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WH5WWNB . Thank you.
The survey will close on Saturday night (some time) and the results will be on this blog on Monday (some time).
Thank you very much for your numerous and interesting responses.
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If the welfare of waders especially the curlew is of importance to you perhaps you should be working /compromising with moor stake holders to improve the situation rather than being involved in pandering to poorly informed general public to further your own agenda
John – that is your first comment here and you haven’t got off to a good start.
I don’t see why people object to grouse shooting. They are a wild bird and only the surplus population is shot. If they weren’t shot and eaten they would die over winter anyway. Better to have a swift end than die of disease or malnutrition. The moor owner ensures there are enough grouse protected to have a breeding stock for the next year. I always wonder why the moors that are not managed for shooting are not overrun with Hen Harriers or Merlins if grouse shooting is the reason for their decline. There must be other reasons such as their nests being predated by the vermin that is not controlled as on grouse moors. A grouse moor will be more rich in wildlife then an unmanaged moor. I would much rather see the population of crows, magpies and foxes reduced to ensure more of our songbirds and ground nesting birds survive. Badgers are a wonderful animal, but their population is out of control. They need reducing to sustainable levels to reduce the damage they do to hedgehogs and ground nesting birds. Instead of trying to inject against TB they should be given a contraceptive.
Peter – thank you for your first comment here. You could read my book Inglorious for the answers to some of your points about grouse shooting and there is a wealth of contradictory evidence for some of your other poi9nts. Welcome to this blog.
I’ve seen your book “Inglorious” (actually “Inglorious Conflict in the Uplands”). It’s a totally Class-Based rejection of what goes on – why don’t you TRY to be less biased ?
Peter – your comment isn’t relevant to this blog post. Thank you fo your first unsuccessful attempt to post a comment here.
I am a farmer in Wales and I do my own – re-wilding obviously not of apex predators since even the carrion crow finds my sheep very attractive or rather their lambs. The recent challenge to the GL must have pleased many sheep farmers in England, thankfully here in Wales it did not affect our necessary controls which are not simply and excuse to shoot thing as Mr Packham suggests. I shoot, obvioulsy and have done all my life but sparingly. I love the countryside and have attempted re-establishing a population of english or grey partridge on the farm in support of my neighbour who has relaesed wild bred birds for 20 years. We are lucky to have an old pond which is home to Canada and Greylag geese who earlier this year raised 7 goslings (Canada) and Four (Greylag). there is also a largish population of foxes which I also control to protect the geese and other ground nesting birds. We have swallows and house martins which are under threat here and regularly see them raise 2 broods before they leave. Grouse shooting is not just about grouse shooting its also about habitat maintenance and provides a safer environment for the breeding of curlew/lapwing and other high ground waders. I am quite happy for those who own moors to earn money or pleasyre from Grouse shooting since, as with all shooting, conservation is at the heart of it.
How much land do shooting people maintain. I suggest it is far in excess of all mainstream bird protection societies, though their efforts are welcome. I DO NOT and nor do any of my shooting acquaintances accept that illegal raptor control is a necessary part of shooting. Many shoots practice diversionary feeding at critical p;eriods and the loss of a few wild birds to raptors has never been an issue – its accepted. So yes, I support all forms of shooting for environment protection (DEER) and for the benefits shooting brings which some find hard to understand. I have a peregrine vists my land, a kestrel has its home here as does a buzzard – those two dont get on particularly well together. I have a strong population of bats and have put up 5 bat boxes, a twny owl nest box, and a barn owl box – the latter made from the dimensions provided by the RSPB who, in my view would be better off concentrating a little more on hedgerow and farmland birds than romancing the raptors exclusively. The truth may well be unwelcome but shooters generally shoot little, some for the pot, to protect crops and habitat as well as game and grouse shooting. The positives of shooting outweigh the negatives by perhaps a factor of 5. We are not all killers nor are those who shoot grouse. However, re-wilding with Apex predators e.g. sea eagles will ensure lambs and sheep will become a traget. I have been a protector of wildlife all my life as a particpant not as an onlooker.
P.Johnson – thank you for your first comment here.
Mark
I love the countryside and fieldsports and my interests can go hand in hand. I think you make some interesting points where shooting has lost its way, but we aren’t all landed gentry shooting huge bags or overseas teams flying in shooting huge back to back days and not eating anything.
I genuinely think there is a way for everyone to get along and achieve the same aims but I fear your and particularly CP some times radical agenda is just polarising people further.
You and indeed anyone else are more than welcome to visit our shoot and see the good work we do
Co-operation is the key to progress
I am increasingly worried that when you start re wilding instead of managing moorland, you will have many more wildfires due to woody overgrown heather, these wild fires will be much harder to put out and will inevitably lead to heavy loss of nesting birds as the fires are more likely to happen in summer, To be honest i believe leaving moorland unmanaged is an act of eco vandalism. I am a crofter with a lifetime of experience of moorland management..