Mountain Hares

Mountain Hares are native to Britain and Ireland, unlike Brown Hares, so we should look after them. This very recent paper; … which is public access has an arresting title and the text looks pretty convincing to me. Grouse moors not great for Mountain Hares in the Peak District. Read the paper, look at the…

Another letter to my MP – on Badgers

Dear Mr Pursglove, Thank you for your replies to my two earlier letters on birds of prey and Badgers. I’m grateful to you for taking the time and for such full respones – see my blog. This letter is also about Badgers and follows the Westminster Hall debate on the subject at the end of…

Local patch

I spent a couple of hours at my local patch of Stanwick Lakes this morning. I was hoping to catch up with some more spring migrants as Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Swallow and Little Ringed Plover are more or less it for me so far. It was a sunny but cool morning. As we neared the site…

Woodcock shooting

When you are in a hole – stop digging! GWCT say on their website that they don’t want people to shoot Woodcock before December, in order to reduce the impact of shooting on the UK breeding population. For such a prevaricating organisation their advice is perfectly clear: But they continue to muddy the waters and…

Replies from my MP

I’ve had replies to my two recent letters to my MP. Mr Pursglove is a reliable responder to correspondence. I wonder whether it helps that I have a blog? I wrote to Mr Pursglove about his colleague’s, Mr Loder’s, remarks about birds of prey. Chris Loder MP, does appear to be out on a limb…

Do we have the energy?

I haven’t had time to read this carefully, but there is a bit more in it on energy efficiency than I expected from media reports – however, this is definitely an area of high priority. This government’s, and this Prime Minister’s, infatuation with big projects (which often don’t happen) means that I would be very…

Let’s get together in July!

I’m looking forward to this new and earlier version of Hen Harrier Day. I’m told the weather will be perfect… For the unfolding details why not subscribe to Wild Justice’s free newsletter – click here.

GWCT speak with forked tongue on Woodcocks

The GWCT has responded to Wild Justice’s call for the shooting season for Woodcock to be changed to protect the UK breeding population from overshooting – click here. The GWCT statement doesn’t state much but attempts to do the ‘it’s all very complicated, Wild Justice doesn’t understand’ thing. But it won’t wash. In a recent,…

Countryside Alliance – not so witty, but not so daft

Following the RSPB’s and WWT’s witty open letter to shooting organisations to join them in a call for a ban on the use of toxic lead shotgun ammunition in the UK, the Countryside Alliance have rapidly responded. Their response isn’t quite so joke-laden, and amounts to a leaden ‘No, won’t!’. Quelle surprise! The Countryside Alliance…