2021

Guest blog by Amanda Perkins, Curlew Country Manager.

Dr. Jen Brewin takes a look at how the badger cull has offered an opportunity for scientists to study the effects of predation by badgers in a way that would not otherwise have been possible.

This week is Insect Week 2021, organised by the Royal Entomological Society and supported by other organisations.

Whilst farming policy has looked to embrace a more sustainable, practical future, the approach to wildlife conservation, as demonstrated by the latest pronouncements from Defra, seems to be ‘stuck in the mud’.

Organisers of The GWCT Scottish Game Fair sponsored by NFU Mutual have seen an unprecedented surge in both ticket sales and exhibition stand bookings after Nicola Sturgeon revealed the roadmap to Level 0 in Scotland.

The biggest talk in town at present has been the Australian trade deal.  I have been reluctant for us (GWCT Wales) to get into this debate as trade is not within our Charitable Objectives. 

“What is not clear is that banning driven grouse shooting would be good for the environment: in fact, I think that, on balance, it would be harmful”, said Tom Hunt, MP for Ipswich as he drew Monday’s Westminster Hall debate on the future of driven grouse shooting to a close. Across an hour and a half, members of Parliament shared their views on the Wild Justice petition to ban driven grouse shooting.

With curlew in decline in the UK, the Curlew Recovery Partnership (CRP) is hosting a series of regional workshops in late June and early July, giving anyone interested in curlew conservation to chance to learn more about curlew conservation and discuss concerns and opportunities in their local area.

Brown hares are naturalised but not strictly native to the UK.

GWCT Scotland first started using the Epicollect5 App at our demonstration farm in Aberdeenshire to maintain predator control and habitat management data. This type of information gathering paved the way for thinking about how we can further equip keepers and land managers with a simple, effective tool to record a variety of management information.