Exmoor is an upland area of almost no value in terms of food production – that’s why the recently produced England Land Use Framework – click here – had it shaded as an area for above average land use change. Exmoor is also a National Park. If we can’t put hook-beaked biodiversity back in a place like Exmoor then we’re going to be a bit stuck.
The most vociferous local opposition to this plan from Forestry England and supported by Natural England wasn’t very vociferous at all as far as I can see. The intemperate words all come from Scotland and the NFUS.
The Isle of Wight White-tailed Eagle reintroduction which is going pretty well faced similar opposition from local farmers. I’m not aware of any serious issues of losses of live lambs to eagles, and if there were any then I’m sure we would all have heard about them.
It’s entirely possible that dead or sickly lambs might be taken but that will partly be a sheep husbandry issue and partly an impact that should be set against biodiversity gain and increased tourism revenues.
The measure of a good public policy is not that nobody at all is disadvantaged even by a little bit, it is whether the public benefit overall is positive. Conservationists do not have to argue that eagles never take lambs to support this project, merely that the lamb losses are no big deal compared with the wider benefits.
I wonder where these eagles will end up; feeding in Bridgwater Bay in winter, nesting along the Somerset and Devon coast or maybe nesting on Lundy?
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This is very good news. Some might end up nesting on the Avalon Marshes.
Slowly, ever so slowly, we are getting our fauna back.