I’m glad that the Mail on Sunday’s latest rant at the RSPB for being a nature conservation organisation didn’t spoil Martin Harper’s weekend. It shouldn’t have done, because Botham appears to be bonkers. But there will be some, and Martin may be one of them, who work for the RSPB and feel a bit dispirited…
Tag: hen harrier
Jeremy Deller – Turner Prize winner and Hen Harrier enthusiast
Last week I arranged to meet Jeremy Deller to talk about Hen Harriers. We met in London and had a coffee together. I’ve never met a Turner Prize (2004) winner before, nor someone who has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I wanted to talk to Jeremy…
The backlash begins…
Governments from across the world, including the UK, decided over the weekend that lead ammunition should be phased out urgently – for the sake of wildlife and people. Not being able to see a mouth without sticking their feet in it, BASC and the Countryside Alliance oppose this move on grounds that they don’t explain….
Hen Harrier Day 2+
If you can, then save the date of 9 December for a rally of the Westminster parliament by nature conservationists. An event, organised by the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the League Against Cruel Sports (the first time these organisations have worked together in this way?) will be held on the 9 December – the…
And so…
Let’s just take a step back and survey the scene. the number of Hen Harriers nesting in England over the last decade has fallen and this bird is almost extinct in England Hen Harrier Day attracted hundreds of protesters (in appalling weather) and achieved a social media reach of millions the opening of the Red…
Grouse shooters – time to give a mile
The issues surrounding driven grouse shooting are far wider than ‘just’ the despicable illegal killing of protected wildlife – but that isn’t a bad place to start. And we need to start to end it. It is clear from today’s blog by the RSPB’s Conservation Director, Martin Harper, that the RSPB feels that the criminal…
Inner steel
It’s not often that Martin Harper posts a blog on a Saturday but this one is well worth reading. Here is an extract: ‘There is little sign that the grouse moor industry is prepared to condemn, let alone end illegal killing. The industry has to prove that it can deliver the recovery of hen harriers…
Round up
Yesterday, the Wildlife Trusts awarded Simon Barnes (pictured right) their Rothschild Medal. this is a richly deserved honour in recognition of Simon’s campaigning journalism and beautiful writing – it probably deserves a mention in The Times. This year Simon has been closely associated with two issues that will be familiar to regular readers of…
RSPB will come out fighting
Whoever is behind the ill-conceived attack on the RSPB fronted by a silent and absent ex-cricketer, a silent baronet and a silent ex-nature conservationist, and carried into the pages of the Mail on Sunday (did you know that the Daily Mail’s editor, Paul Dacre, owns a grouse moor?), I believe they have miscalculated. They have misconstrued…
Yesterday
Yesterday, in London, I spent my time with an Indian conservationist, a former colleague from the RSPB, a former Labour Minister, a Turner Prize winner, an expert on marine conservation, a former Greenpeace director, a Hen Harrier enthusiast, a journalist, an employee of WWF-UK and a talented singer. Sounds like I had a busy day…