Wild Justice has launched its first case – a challenge of the legality of the General Licences. Our legal advice is that the way that Natural England/Defra authorise the killing of Carrion Crows, Woodpigeons, Jackdaws and a list of other species is unlawful. Our lawyers wrote to Natural England on 13 February but they only…
Tag: Natural England
We lost – but we’ve already made a difference
A little while ago Mrs Justice Lang handed down her judgment on the legal challenges by myself and the RSPB. We lost. In fact we both lost on all counts so it sounds like a bit of a massacre – but it wasn’t. Our challenge was of the decision by Natural England to issue licences…
Coul Links crowdfunder is boosted by Walshaw Moor success
The campaign to protect Coul Links is important to me. I know the site and the thought of it becoming yet another golf course when it is so important for wildlife is abhorrent and, in many ways, sums up the ways in which wildlife is so often pushed aside in the modern age. And I…
Guest blog – Toad Rage 3 by Paul Sterry
This blog by Dr Paul Sterry follows two earlier ones; Toad Rage and Toad Rage 2. Paul Sterry has an academic background in freshwater biology and is a passionate conservationist. He has been writing about natural history and photographing wildlife for the last 40 years, with an emphasis on the British scene. One way or…
Guest blog by anonymous.
Mark writes: I don’t normally publish anonymous guest blogs but in this case, knowing the circumstances, I can see why the person wishes to remain anonymous. And the text stands on its own. See also this recent blog on the same subject, from a different perspective, by our friends at Raptor Persecution UK. The New…
RSPB press release – another missing Hen Harrier
Vulcan – another missing Hen Harrier, presumed dead. A young male hen harrier has disappeared in suspicious circumstances in Wiltshire and is believed most likely to be dead. The harrier, named Vulcan, was one of five chicks to fledge from a nest in Northumberland last summer. He was fitted with a satellite tag as part…
Restoration burning is a myth
An open access paper in Biodiversity and Conservation looks at the burning of blanket bogs. Its Abstract ends with these words, More frequent burning will result in a greater proportion of land in the early post-burning stages, potentially resulting in a thinner moss layer, more bare peat and less healthy Sphagnum, with potential consequences for…
What a laugh!
It must be difficult going in front of a Parliamentary Committee to justify why you should get a job, but that is what the Chair-designate of Natural England has to do. And that’s what birder, fisherman, environmentalist and wildlife enthusiast Tony Juniper did very well yesterday. It’s difficult because you are talking to a small…
Countryfile makes a comeback
It is worth watching the piece on moorland burning that went out on Countryfile last night. (Click here from 14mins – 25mins in) There are claims that the system designed to protect [blanket bog] is not fit for purpose https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0002tww/countryfile-gloucestershire Well done to Guy Shrubsole and Friends of the Earth! That dossier of burning on…
Countryside Alliance clash with Defra policy on grouse hand-outs
The Countryside Alliance is giving Chris Packham a little rest and is turning its nastiness towards Tony Juniper, Michael Gove’s proposed new Chair of the hapless Natural England (who will appear before the Efra committee on Tuesday). According to the Sunday Telegraph, campaigners representing ‘farming, countryside communities and businesses‘, (though only the Countryside Alliance is…