Many of us have had this standard letter from the chair of SNH: Thank you for your recent correspondence on the subject of the issue of a research licence to the Strathbraan Community Collaboration for Waders. I welcome that so many people in this country care passionately about the welfare of all our wildlife…
Category: THE STATUTORY AGENCIES: NE, EA, FE etc
My ‘Raven cull’ email to SNH
Dear Mr Cantlay Everyone makes mistakes, but I’m surprised that SNH has made this one. I’m also surprised that it hasn’t corrected it after a week of public outcry over your decision to license a mass cull of Ravens. SNH’s decision has damaged Scotland’s environmental reputation at a time when the Scottish Government has in…
Bowland gull cull 10 – update
Last week the RSPB published an interesting blog about the Forest of Bowland which included these passages: ‘The situation is complicated. Natural England have been attempting to tackle the historical culling consent granted to the Abbeystead Estate. As part of a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, the estate voluntarily agreed not to cull gulls using these…
Ravens
The decision of SNH to issue a licence for a mass cull of Ravens in Perthshire is absolutely stunning in its stupidity – see here. The next thing they’ll suggest is taking away Ravens from their nests, raising them in captivity and then letting them go again a few weeks later – see here. It…
Natural England continues not to come clean – Bowland Gull Cull 9
The story so far: Smidgeons of information on gull culls from NE – 14 February 2018 Bowland gull cull licensing facts still kept secret by NE – 6 February 2018 FOI Bowland gull cull – November 2017 Quick response from NE on Bowland gull cull – 7 September 2017 Any NE news on Bowland gull…
Limp response from Natural England
I’ve been at Cheltenham racecourse this week, and it was just before the last race on Wednesday that our lawyer, Tessa Gregory, phoned me to say that we had had a response from Natural England to our pre-action protocol letter. It wasn’t a very interesting response as NE said that because they were dealing with…
Small steps
1. Early Day Motion 915 praising brood-meddling has not gathered any further support! In fact it is worse than that for its proposers, a Labour MP added his name and then removed it! So we see an EDM on the actions of NE and Defra whose only supporters are four DUP MPs and one SNP…
Wuthering moors (61) – Natural England – how deep have you sunk?
Dear Natural England, You know that ‘Catchment Restoration Plan’ that you signed with Walshaw Moor Estate? You know? This one. Yeh? The one with the new track? This new track? Yeh? The new track with the measurements of peat depth along its length? Before you signed off this joint plan – you…
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…
Bowland gull cull 7 – licensing facts still kept secret by NE
I have reminded NE that they owe us all an explanation of the culling of gulls in an SPA which was set up partly to protect its colony of nesting gulls. ‘Nearly three months ago (see below) you told me that the NE investigation into the Bowland Gull Cull was moving to its final stages…