Governments in Britain are to consult on shooting seasons for Woodcock, Snipe, Golden Plover, White-fronted Geese, Goldeneye, Pintail and Pochard (with different packages of proposals for each of Scotland, Wales and England) but it is proposed that Pochard should be removed from Schedule 2.1 across Britain. Consultation – click here. These proposals emanate from correspondence…
Category: SHOOTERS
Why Hen Harriers don’t prosper in the Forest of Bowland and what could be done about it
Introduction: This blog was prompted by reading the Draft Management Plan for the Forest of Bowland National Landscape (the new name for the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). I have written several earlier versions of this blog and electronically ripped them up and put them in the bin. This is where I…
Patrick Galbraith now a Telegraph environment correspondent
The most interesting thing about this story in the Telegraph is its byline: that of Patrick Galbraith, former editor of Shooting Times and author of this blog’s Book of the Year (2022), In Search of One Last Song, and his most recent book, Uncommon Ground which in my view is a cracking read (see review)…
RSPB comment on Defra burning announcement and Defra summary of consultation responses
In response to this morning’s announcement by Defra of tighteneing of reguations on vegetation burning on peat soils, Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, said: “Extending the ban on burning over peat in the English uplands is a hugely positive step forwards towards protecting these precious habitats and reducing carbon emissions. Peatlands are one of nature’s greatest superheroes,…
Moorland Ass
It’s difficult to tell whether the Moorland Association is still alive, it had shown few signs of life during the last years of Amanda Anderson’s reign and the patient still seems to be in intensive care under Andrew Gilruth’s tenure. It appears that the brains of the Moorland Association have decided that a ‘let’s kill…
Cabin Boy chosen for sinking ship
Well, who would have believed it? As Amanda Anderson departs (see here and here), Andrew Gilruth is appointed CEO of the Moorland Association. There is a bit of job title inflation going on here. Amanda succeeded Martin Gillibrand, who had the title of Secretary, whereas I believe Amanda was called Director, but now Andrew is…
Bye, bye Amanda
Comments Off on Bye, bye Amanda
The news that Amanda Anderson is leaving the Moorland Association after 10 years as Director doesn’t come as a great surprise. Ten years of batting on a very sticky wicket would be enough for most people. Also, Amanda has not been very high profile for a few years and the Moorland Association’s Twitter feed is…
Guest blog – Shooters’ ecological illiteracy on social media by Paul Irving
Now I’ve been a wildlife freak almost all of my 72 years and for much of my working life, it was part, even if sometimes tangentially of what I did. My main interest is/was raptors but not to the exclusion of anything else, if it flies, crawls, walks, swims, slithers or just flowers I’m interested…
A taste of Country Life
I’ve been reading the 15 February copy of Country Life. It’s a publication I look at a few times a year just to keep in touch with what’s really going on in the countryside. It took me a while to decide whether I preferred the £19m (guide offer) c7-acre pad in Jersey or the 26.59…
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,…