East Allenheads needs a Magritte, a stuffed alligator and a helipad

Jeremy Herrmann owns two grouse moors in County Durham and Northumberland (Muggleswick and East Allenheads respectively) which have been mentioned in this blog before – see here and here and more recently here. It seems that one Boris Johnson may well have visited East Allenheads for a spot of grouse shooting in 2015. East Allenheads…

Tim Melling – Antarctic Fur Seal

Tim writes: this is a young Antarctic Fur Seal on a beach on South Georgia where about 95% of the global population breeds.  Usually they are with lots of other Fur Seals, and penguins too, but I managed to photograph this one all by itself.  Its scientific name Arctocephalus gazella translates as “bear head” while…

Shooting preparing for a climbdown on lead ammunition?

This article by Rob Yorke, allegedly a personal view, suggests that shooting may be preparing to face the inevitable, and to admit that lead ammunition should go. I hope so. If this were just Rob Yorke wittering on then it wouldn’t hold much weight but the quotes from Liam Bell, Tim Bonner and the news…

Lead shot discussed in parliament yesterday

From the Earl of Shrewsbury (Con); Game shooting and fishing plays an important part in the rural economy, often providing badly needed jobs and income in less favoured areas. Indeed, wildlife can prosper on well-managed shoots and fisheries. I am a firm believer that game produced by the shooting sports should go into the food…

Bad deal for the environment

The Brexit deal on the table is a bad one for the environment. It moves the protections for the environment and workers’ rights out of the divorce agreement (which is a binding treaty, in effect) and into the polital declaration which is non-binding. This is the change to the level playing field that the Johnson…

And another…

See here Where is the Werritty report and will it be fit for purpose? Why are NE licensing brood meddling instead of clamping down on wildlife crime? Why has no Defra minister ever condemned the scale of illegal killing of protected wildlife on driven grouse moors? Why is the Moorland Association not ostracised by statutory…

New Networks for Nature in York

The annual New Networks for Nature event starts in two weeks time – in York. Ticket sales end at midnight Monday 28 October – click here for details.

A deal? A bad one if so.

It is reported that Boris and the EU have agreed a ‘deal’. Jeremy Corbyn is reported widely as having said; From what we know, it seems the Prime Minister has negotiated an even worse deal than Theresa May’s, which was overwhelmingly rejected. These proposals risk triggering a race to the bottom on rights and protections:…

E-petition to ban driven grouse shooting – update

The total has passed 111,111 signatures and the prospect of a general election campaign (which would close all such petitions on the UK Parliament website) keeps approaching and receding, more often than the movement of the tides it seems to me. It’s unclear whether the time for ‘one last big push’ is today or in…