UK failure on international environmental targets revealed by the RSPB on eve of major UN report RSPB analysis of the UK’s self-assessment reveals the picture may be worse than reported, raising doubts some targets have not been met and highlighting areas where the UK has regressed The UK must recognise the opportunity to make urgent changes at home…
Tag: Natural England
Brood meddling of Hen Harriers – where next?
The daft government brood-meddling scheme, one of the most controversial so-called conservation actions of my time in nature conservation has always been controversial but following the recent news on Hen Harriers it is in even greater trouble. Brood -meddling (called brood management by its supporters) consists of removing young Hen Harriers from their nests, rearing…
Natural England Hen Harrier debacle
The story so far: The NE/DEFRA/Moorland Association/GWCT press release and this blog’s generous first take on it – 3 September RPUK’s take on it – 3 September A short RSPB statement – 3 September I try to make sense of things – 3 September How NE let the shooters talk nonsense because they don’t have…
Natural England misleads minister who misleads parliament?
The war of words over Hen Harriers reached a new low this week with Natural England feeding a minister, Rebecca Pow, inaccurate information which she passed on to Parliament, if the RSPB is to be believed – and I am sure they are to be believed. In yesterday’s statement from RSPB which laid out the…
RSPB spills the beans on Natural England Hen Harrier cover up
Last week Natural England released the ‘results’ of ‘their’ monitoring of Hen Harriers in England in 2020. Their press release was a bit confused and a bit in error and was packed out with quotes from Natural England’s mates in the shooting industry about what a great thing brood meddling of Hen Harrier nests is,…
England tree strategy – respond this week
You can have your say on the England Tree Strategy by filling in all or part of an online form by the end of Friday this week. Click here for link. This is an important issue – though I can’t promise the DEFRA will take any notice of your response – though I can promise…
Press release – Rewilding Britain
Natural regeneration key to doubling woodlands and saving Britain’s crippled forests Government’s draft England Tree Strategy ‘woefully inadequate’ Allowing trees to naturally establish over huge areas could massively expand Britain’s woodlands more effectively and at a fraction of the cost of tree planting, according to research by Rewilding Britain. It says the Government’s draft England Tree Strategy,…
EU Member states vote for lead ban in all wetlands
This from the EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries; Woohoo! Obviously welcomed by conservationists across Europe. As I understand it this will include wetlands like blanket bogs and so, if only we were still in the EU, it would include driven grouse shooting. I’m still a Remainer but luckily (ha!ha!) all those Brexiteers like…
How many Hen Harriers?
In late June the Moorland Association jumped the gun and said there were 12 Hen Harrier nests on grouse moors in England this year. They also said that this equalled the number in the whole of England last year (not true according to Natural England). And they said that 6 of these nests were in…
Hen Harrier brood-meddling – just for the record…
Since we are definitely having a Hen Harrier-fllled day… On 27 July this blog pointed out to Natural England that it was all over the place with what it said about the reasons (there are no good ones) for the Hen Harrier brood meddling trial – see here. Natural England’s blog, written by their Director…