In order to avoid getting a whipping in court yesterday and today, DEFRA had to concede last week on the necessity to assess the impacts of the release of tens of milllions of non-native gamebirds on protected wildlife sites. That is what Wild Justice asked for and that is what we got. Because DEFRA has…
BLOG
Gamebirds victory (11) – what happens next?
Today, in a series of blog posts, I will concentrate on what needs to happen next as a result of the Wild Justice legal victory. But, since there is a lot of nonsense being written about the Wild Justice legal victory, here is the sealed court order which ended the case and which is based…
Yesterday on the Nene Washes
Yesterday afternoon I visited the Nene Washes at Eldernell on a very nice afternoon. There were a few other birders there but social distancing was easy and there was some discussion about whether this was the last chance to visit for a month and what counted as local. But I guess that was my pre-lockdown…
Gamebirds victory (10) – DEFRA turned its back on studying these things
As long ago as 2014 I asked DEFRA: ‘What research has been done that addresses the range of ecological costs and benefits of rearing and releasing Pheasants for shooting? Does native wildlife benefit or is it harmed by Pheasant shooting? Does Defra have plans to do any such research?‘ https://markavery.info/2014/03/31/letter-mp-response-defra-2/ and they replied: ‘Defra has…
Gamebirds victory (9) – lead, another ignored factor.
Comments Off on Gamebirds victory (9) – lead, another ignored factor.
Lead ammunition was part of the Wild Justice legal challenge to DEFRA but DEFRA (and Natural England) tended to ignore it. I can see why, it’s a very difficult issue for them politically though very clear biologically. Just as readers of this blog think that Waitrose should deal with the issue of lead in the…