It is still impossible to see the planning application made for a damaging track across blanket bog on the Walshaw Moor Estate on the Calderdale Council side of the boundary. Several others have tried and failed too. We are told that the planning reference number is 18/40002/AGR but this fails to work when entered into…
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
Boris sneers at environmental protection
It was an interesting decision to choose Boris Johnson, one of the most distrusted politicians in a distrusted government, to ‘reach out’ to us all over Brexit in a divisive speech entitled ‘Uniting for a Great Brexit‘. Did it work for you? Here is one passsage: ‘We can simplify planning, and speed up public procurement,…
Brood meddling – a potential legal challenge (or two)
Anyone seeking to mount a judicial review of NE’s decision to issue a licence for brood managment on Hen Harriers this year (see here and here) has a couple of months to get it sorted. We, that’s me and some mates, have been exploring this option seriously, and still are. I should be meeting a…
A White-letter day for Scotland
A declining butterfly may have started breeding in Scotland for the first time in 130 years, after eggs were discovered by amateur naturalists, Butterfly Conservation (BC) has confirmed. A handful of White-letter Hairstreak eggs were found on Wych Elm trees at Lennel near Coldstream, Berwickshire, on Sunday 4 February. The discovery comes after Borders Butterfly…
The Labour Animal Welfare plan
The Labour Party has today published its animal welfare plan. It’s pretty good. Things that some will like (and others will hate) include: expanding the definition of animal to include decapod crustaceans and cephalopods prohibit the third-party sale of puppies establish a full-time zoo inspectorate mandatory labelling of meat to include country of origin and…
Gove questioned over Hen Harriers – and spectacularly doesn’t answer!
In a bit of a coup, Rob Yorke got an exclusive interview with Michael Gove – I’m almost jealous. There are some interesting things in the interview – all words dropping out of the mouths of senior politicians are somewhat interesting, as much in what they don’t say as what they do. But Rob Yorke…
Bowland Gull Cull 8 – smidgeons of information from NE
In response to this: Sent: 06 February 2018 07:39 To: FOI (NE) <foi@naturalengland.org.uk> Subject: RE: Bowland gull cull Nearly three months ago you told me that the NE investigation into the Bowland Gull Cull was moving to its final stages and that I would be informed of its outcome. I have not heard from…
Press release from Crustacean Compassion
Michael Gove was presented with a petition today signed by over 35,000 people calling on Defra to “Show Lobsters Some Love”. The petition was presented as a giant Valentine’s Day card for Gove to sign in his capacity as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It was presented by Crustacean Compassion, the…
Dear Mr Gove! Wake up to this mess!
Dear Mr Gove You have a mess on your hands and despite the fact that you inherited much of it, you have let Natural England dig you into an even deeper hole. But in any case, it’s now your mess because you are sitting at the desk at which the buck stops. Why would you…
Wuthering Moors (58) – NE fails to regulate burning on blanket bogs
The Moorland Management Plans (MMPs) for places such as Walshaw Moor are largely a response to the complaints to the EU Commission by the RSPB and the Hebden Bridge ‘Ban the Burn‘ campaigners (Hebden Bridge sits below Walshaw Moor in the Calder Valley) over the nature and scale of burning of moorland on grouse moors….