George Monbiot’s article in today’s Guardian reinforces the view that Defra has sunk to about as low as it can get. He points out that Defra announced the impacts of NOx pollution on human mortality and a consultation on how to fix it on the Saturday just before the media were swamped with the news…
Author: Mark
Born Bristol, UK
Educated: Cleeve House School Bristol, Bristol Grammar School and Downing College Cambridge
Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Winter activity of pipistrelle bats.
NERC post-doctoral Research Fellow, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University
Former Conservation Director of the RSPB, 1989-2011
Defra – a shameful government department
One of the more reasonable aspects of the dreadful government response to our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting is that it regards the fact that there were a few more Hen Harriers this year (although many of the males disappeared of course) as encouraging. It is a little bit encouraging – but not very….
Just wondering…(2)
I’m grateful to various clever people for contacting me about yesterday’s blog about the extreme unlikelihood of so many male Hen Harriers disappearing from active nests with RSPB involvement. My brain was aching a bit so I am grateful for others’ input. The probability of 5 or more male Hen Harriers disappearing through ‘normal’ levels…
Badger consultation
The government is consulting on relaxing the criteria that need to be met for farmers to get licenses to kill badgers in trial areas. This government is dead keen to give the NFU and farmers greater ‘flexibility’ in killing badgers with the supposed aim of reducing bTB. We need to reduce bTB. We may need…
Just wondering…
The RSPB is being criticised by the usual suspects (The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and also the shooting press) for the number of Hen Harrier nests that failed on its watch last season. We’ve been through this several times recently, including getting the Daily Telegraph to correct its earlier version and to apologise for…