You must read this account of Findlay Wilde’s visit to Downing St to talk to Sir John Randall, the environment advisor to the Number 10 Policy Unit. Findlay is a good advocate and I’m sure that he and John got on well. I was fascinated by some of the remarks that John was happy for…
Tag: grouse moor
No comment never looks that good
My question to Defra 0n 21 November: What is the status of the complaint made by the RSPB and Ban the Burn campaigners of Hebden Bridge against the UK government and to the European Commission regarding management practices on grouse moors? When will Defra make a public comment on the case? Defra’s response to me…
Climate and UK birds
The focus on climate change in the SUKB report published today is a very useful stock-check. It has prompted me to go back and look at one of my ‘favourite’ books, published 10 years ago, A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds by Rhys Green of the RSPB and Brian Huntley, Yvonne Collingham and Stephen…
The Raptor Persecution UK Marsh Harrier revelation
I can’t remember Raptor Persecution UK getting a story badly wrong – admittedly their spelling and grammar are sometimes a bit suspect but their facts and news are spot on. And so I’d be very surprised if they have been misinformed about the desire of grouse moor managers to bump off Marsh Harriers revealed today. …
Scottish government grouse moor enquiry
Scottish government press release: New group to focus on sustainability of driven-grouse moors. Membership of an independent group to ensure grouse moor management practices are sustainable and legally compliant has been confirmed. The new group will be led by Professor Alan Werrity, who previously chaired a Scottish Natural Heritage review into sustainable moorland management. It…
NE don’t know much about their study
Back on 1 October I asked NE some questions. They asked for extra time to answer them and I had a response yesterday afternoon. The questions related to an excellent NE publication of 2008 entitled ‘A future for hen harriers in England?’ which it is well worth having a good look at, and asking yourself…
Silence from the Food Standards Agency
It’s apparently GB Game Week (#GBGameWeek) where the shooting industry tries to persuade us all to eat game meat. Although I am veggie for four days a week, the freezer has quite a lot of venison in it – and very enjoyable it is too. But I know where that venison comes from, it’s shot…
The Defra response – a few comments
The biggest problem with the Defra response is that it still ducks the issue of wildlife crime – and how can a government turn its back on crime? I’ll come back to that tomorrow morning. But for now, let us thank Gavin Gamble (and 9,999 others) for flushing out these comments. It’s always enlightening to…
A Defra response only scores 3 out of 10
Defra responded yesterday to Gavin Gamble’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting. Congratulations to Gavin for having moved things on a bit – it’s always interesting to get a glimpse of what is going on in the government mind. Here is the government response: Defra is working with key interested parties to ensure the sustainable…
Dr Coffey’s reading list (24) – in praise of gamekeepers
Dr Therese Coffey is the junior minister at Defra. Now that Gavin Gamble’s e-petition in favour of banning driven grouse shooting has passed 10,000 signatures Dr Coffey will need to sign off a government response. Gavin Gamble’s petition passed 12,000 signatures yesterday and is only just short of 12,500 now. It’s had a boost in…