The Countryside Alliance boss, Tim Bonner, joins Chris Loder in the worst-judged recent tweet competition with this offering…
… which suggests that my mate Chris Packham has broken the law by having a dead Badger temporarily in his possession.
This isn’t misjudged simply because I don’t agree with it – there are plenty of clever and incisive remarks and tweets that I don’t agree with but admire for their cleverness.
It isn’t misjudged simply because it is factually incorrect – that is a failing, but a somewhat habitual one for Mr Bonner, and we all make mistakes. Some of Bonner’s mistakes have been wonderful – remember the Linnethawk?
No, it is misjudged because it is mean and quite obviously very personal. It looks like Bonner is stooping as low as possible simply to have a go at Chris Packham. It appears, but I might be wrong of course as I cannot see deep into Tim Bonner’s soul (I can’t even see it from here), that it is wholly spite-fuelled. That’s not a secure basis for winning people over to your point of view. That’s why it is a misjudgement.
And although the tweet has attracted a lot of attention there are very few folk agreeing with or supporting it – it’s too embarrassing I guess.
Slightly unfortunately, some of the outraged supporters of Chris have responded in a similarly personal way – to which the same snags of misjudgement apply.
But Chris’s words about the loss of a Badger which he got to know and whose loss he mourned are well worth a read. My view, for what it’s worth, is that, on average, Chris speaks better than he writes, but he is very, very good at both. And these words are a sublime account – which makes Bonner’s attack all the more badly judged and unworthy. You see here two men who hold differing views – one is a sublime communicator and demonstrates deep empathy with both people and wildlife. But only one.
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Chris’s account of finding and mourning the loss of that badger brought me to tears. I felt and shared his sadness and pain. Recently I’ve been lucky enough to briefly see a few badgers locally, a thrill and a priviledge. Prior to that I’d only seen dead badgers on the roads and have felt sad every time I did. If Tim Bonner thinks Chris has broken the law, he has a long way to go on the road to being the kind of person and human being I’d want to be near. Poor sod, he has a way to go yet.
So many “roadkill” badgers have been poisoned or otherwise illegally killed, and then tossed onto the tarmac to let the semis and juggernauts obliterate the evidence, that it is now just a running joke in the pubs and in the shops. Everyone knows the farmers are at it, but nobody will do anything and nobody seems to care. It is horrible. The A71 and A709 are particularly bad for this at the moment.
I read Chris’s account on FB and found it very moving, that clause of the badger act is easily covered by a call to the RSPCA and or police, according to something i was told by an RSPCA operative. Bonner has always been an unpleasant spiteful empathy-phobe. As such his utterances on this and many other things, often to do with WJ or Chris or beneath contemptand unworthy of any notice.
A very ill-judged comment from Bonner that does nothing to advance his cause but shows him in a very poor light. Spiteful and small-minded.
Personal attacks of this sort have often been aimed at various prominent members of the conservation community but Chris has been the target of more than most and it is to his credit that he has always responded with dignity and, as far as I know, never resorted to similar mud-slinging himself.
There are no depths low enough to which those who shoot and kill our wildlife for fun will stoop.one cannot believe a word most of them say and most of then have little or no regard for the law. Only a few days ago a red kite was found in one of our reserves which backs onto a very major pheasant shoot. The red kite when it was foun was still alive but had all the hall marks of having been shot. Sadly it died soon after it was recovered from where it had obviously fallen. It has been taken for autopsy.
I do think those concerned about our wildlife have to get really tough with these shooters for fun, even though we know this Westminster Government will give us no support what so ever. These shooters for fun are killing wholesale, eg white tailed eagles and Mr Loder’s terrible pronouncement.
Sooner or later we will get a government that will give support. At which point, one hopes shooting as a “sport” will enter the history books.
If you can, read Tim Bonner’s article in the 4th Feb Countryside Alliance newsletter.
Quite a revelation ! Here the man who crowed over trashing the lead ammunition group is laying into his mates for dismissing steel shot. He goes on to say – a priceless quote – ‘Change is always a difficult thing and it does seem that the rural community is hardwired to resist it.’ Never a truer word was said – over a long rural career I learnt simply to ignore the whingeing and whining and time and time again just a few years later the impossible change had become the norm. And, of course, playing to his gallery, Tim Bonner is the high priest of stoking opposition to urgent and necessary change. Having worked with people like David Tomlinson and John Swift I was moderately neutral over shooting. Tim, the CA, the MA and their fellow travellers have done a great job in shifting my views to vigorous opposition. And, of course, every sportsman knows that playing the man rather than the ball is a clear sign you are losing.
Yes I’ve seen that ,remarkable given the vitriol John Swift suffered from Bonner and his antediluvian mates. I can remember at a Hen Harrier dialogue meeting John saying that the first premise must be obeying the law and the hard looks it drew from a number of folk representing other shooting organisations, particularly the CA and MA. Whatever his utterances re Chris Packham they have always been vitriolic bile, think of the campaign to get the BBC to sack him, odious in the extreme. That Chris takes all this stuff is remarkable but some of it must hurt. What Bonner and his sad supporters fail to realise is there are many of us of the same views as Chris and we all know playing the man is a sign we are, however slowly, winning. It is also interesting how often otherwise apparently reasonable shooting folk recycle his anti Packham vitriol, indicating what a lost cause they really are.
I am afraid that I found Mr Packham’s commentary on the dead badger rather nauseating. Yes, it is tragic when any creature dies in contact with a car, and the driver should have done his best to avoid this. But the baring of one’s emotions so hysterically on social media smacks of self-publicity. Don’t know Mr Packham but this is how I perceive it. No need to emote so publicly about something that cars do daily. Also think it in poor taste to post opposite views.
If you think that the description ‘hysterically’ is in any way appropriate re the remarks Chris Packham made on twitter then I can only assume you’ve had an extremely sheltered upbringing. Either that or you have a taste for ludicrous hyperbole. There’s another word – ‘pomposity’ – which also doesn’t apply to Chris Packham, but does to someone else……..
I felt sick when I read Tim Bonner’s words.. shocked and angry that anyone could be so spiteful and incapable of appreciating the love, empathy and care that Chris displayed for this beautiful Badger. I’m not afraid to admit that I cried when I read Chris’s words on Twitter… I felt sad for Chris that he was the one to come across her… but at the same time I felt strangely relieved that it WAS Chris, someone who genuinely cared and grieved over her and who would take her away from that terrible road to somewhere beautiful.
Chris is a good man, something that Tim Bonner appears not to like or understand.
If I were religious, I’d probably pray for the state of Tim Bonner’s soul… but I’m not.
This should come as no surprise. Bonner has proved time and again he’s willing to stoop to any level for some petty point scoring, regardless of the actual facts. The simply put, Bonner is a bit of joke. Many of those on the hunting/shooting side think him an embarrassment.
As for looking deep into his soul?
That could be a troublesome undertaking when he doesn’t appear to be in possession of one.
I personally compel myself to adopt the fabled ‘british stiff upper lip’ persona when confronted with things like this ie. birds and beasts that were once beautiful and full of natural life reduced to mere pulp on the roads…for no reason other than blindly accepting ‘that these things just happen’.
Pretty sure though that the’british stiff upper lip’ approach is a load of crap in almost all cases and is only useful in disciplining yourself for long enough to forget about it…and therefore to do nothing about it.
Beware when we all go electric our roads will be carnage, – we had the silent spring, soon we’ll have the silent death!
When you gain the trust of the wild
It takes us back to the inner child
Nights spent out on the garden lawn
Scared to cough sneeze or yawn
Then suddenly your wild eyes meet
And you feel your heart skip a beat
A passion felt from the trust you gain
And your life will never be the same
Not many of us will experience this
A part of life we shouldn’t miss
A simple pleasure that some of us find
When you feel the passion it blows your mind
When I read the news of the golden sow
I felt I had to write this now
To love the wild I find an honour
You’ll never feel this way Tim Bonner
You’ve no respect it’s hard to believe
To take the piss when others grieve
So bonner ifyou read this rhyme
You’ve gone a step to far this time
Your views are wrong your heartless too
And that’s what I see when I think of you
‘Factually incorrect’ because the next sentence S(4) says ‘A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (3) above if he shows that—
(a)the badger …… had been killed otherwise than in contravention of the provisions of this Act or of the M1Badgers Act 1973;’