This image, from a walker, shows moorland burning a few days ago on Forest of Bowland grouse moors. This burn was on the slopes of Conder Head. Now, the Duke of Westminster’s Abbeystead Estate has signed up to the voluntary agreement not to burn blanket bog – so was this a transgression? According to this…
Tag: grouse shooting
Banning driven grouse shooting – a rising tide.
Let us start with a quote: 31 October 2016 Therese CoffeyI have heard the concerns of some hon. Members that birds of prey, particularly hen harriers, are deliberately being killed. The Government take the illegal persecution of raptors very seriously. On the missing hen harriers in the last fortnight, the matter has been referred to…
Wuthering Moors 76 – more moor burning
Michael Gove has asked moorland owners to be good boys (and girls – although all the landowners in the room at the time were actually men) and to stop damaging blanket bogs through burning them. Burning is carried out so that men (and a few women) can shoot lots of Red Grouse for fun as…
Policing the burning agreement
This was the example of moorland burning I saw on the northern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park three weeks ago. Does this comply with the voluntary agreement made by many grouse moors not to burn on blanket bogs? There are a couple of things that I would need to know before I could…
Are you sure you’ve identified the right one Crispin?
In The Times I read that Crispin Odey, self-confessed funder of YFTB has decided that Boris Johnson is the person he wants to lead the Conservative Party, and as soon as possible. It’s only a matter of five months ago that Michael Gove was the chosen one for Mr Odey. Blimey! Boris’s principled and reasonable…
Coffey says no!
A grouse shooter’s moll and Defra minister. Photo: Natural England In a closely argued, fact-packed and loquacious answer to a short question from Rachael Maskell MP (Central York, Labour) we learn much about the workings of Therese Coffey’s mind. Surely, rather than ‘no’, the grouse shooters’ moll meant ‘no comment, no comment, no comment‘? Michael…
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Which should survive, hen harriers or grouse moors? Avery gives fair hearings to both sides and comes down against grouse moors
Mall Galleries, SWLA, gossip etc
Leopard and Carmine Bee-eaters – Greg Poole Yesterday I spent large amounts of time from lunchtime to dinner time in the Mall Galleries, in The Mall, at various events including the opening of the SWLA exhibition and a BTO evening reception involving people getting awards. And a pretty good time was had by most I…
An NE staff member writes…
The following is a lightly edited version of an email I recently received from someone whose identity I know, and who I know to be a NE employee. Understandably their identity is not revealed here. The editing I have done is mostly to remove clues as to their identity. I work for NE. I’m writing…
A snippet for now
I feel I’ve been slightly neglecting this blog for a couple of weeks for I was first travelling (and I have things to tell you about that) and then much of last week was taken up with working on our judicial review. Actually, there is nothing to feel guilty about there is there? Today is,…