Farming Today on lead

Mark 8 Comments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tcdv

Farming Today had a chat about lead ammunition this morning (7 minutes into the programme). Readers of this blog won’t have learned anything much (the research mentioned was covered here on 26 February, and Tuesday’s government announcement was covered on Tuesday) but in less than a month’s time this blog won’t be bringing you the news first so you’ll have to pick it up from other sources.

But what Farming Today has brought you is the rational and sensible views of Debbie Pain ‘There is absolutely no need for a 2-year review‘ and, in contrast, the bizarrely conservative views of Conor O’Gorman of BASC who far from supporting the removal of lead ammunition appears to be denying that much change is happening at all. It’s no wonder that ordinary shooters aren’t making the pace on this issue when their representatives talk in this way. Are BASC leading on lead? In O’Gorman’s words ‘Not at all, not at all‘.

[registration_form]

8 Replies to “Farming Today on lead”

  1. So, again we heard on Farming Today this morning from the saturnine lobbyists and apologists for the lead shot ‘industry’. How any scientist can obfuscate as much as the industry person did this morning with references to the need for more research – one already discredited ploy on this topic – and the requirement for cultural change – another already discredited ploy – beggars belief . What we heard was the culture of denial, the culture of ignorance, the culture of the self-interested and privileged few over-riding public health and environmental priorities. It would be good to hear the industry for a change promoting the culture of following the science instead of endlessly denying it. We live in hope.

  2. “in less than a month’s time this blog won’t be bringing you the news first so you’ll have to pick it up from other sources”.

    I am now weaning myself off the blog in order not to get withdrawal symptoms after the dreaded abrupt end. I am most certainly going to miss my early morning catch-up on the life of Mark and all the associated news.

  3. I don’t know who Farming Today is for but it certainly isn’t for farmers. Maybe for those who forgot to turn it off having survived the Shipping Forecast and Prayer for Today. I can’t actually listen to R4 at all at all. Although I do have it on in my Headband-o-Phones all night long but that isn’t really listening but it provides white noise so I don’t lie awake listening to tinnitus.

    But – since a chimbley sweep from Toast so advised – I have kept a mains radio in the boiler-house tuned to R4 365/24 for several years. In that time there has been no more evidence of rats in the boiler-house. This was becoming an issue as they were shinning up the foam pipe-insulation and into the house, and scrabbling at and significantly damaging the base of the cob walls.

    The Science clearly shows that the crap content of R4 and the World Service is so piss-poor that even rats can’t stand it.

  4. Wow. From calling for lead to be phased out in 5 years (a year ago), BASC now say “this is about reducing the impacts of lead ammunition in certain areas” and ” a transition away from certain forms of lead ammunition”.

    The shooting organisations, with BASC to the fore, really are rather generous with their demonstrations of bad-faith, disregard for science and complete lack of trustworthiness.

    This is also yet another demonstration of why change on shooting practices needs to be imposed by legislation, with mechanisms to strictly enforce that legislation.

  5. I spoke to a friend yesterday who has regular contact with shooters.

    Apparently lead short still used in wetlands because of no enforcement. Lead shot preferred as gives a better kill, alternatives do not kill so more winged birds. Will carry on with lead until legislation.

    Depressing

Comments are closed.