2021

We respond to a piece in The Field on the subject of shooting woodock.

If eating game shot with lead were that dangerous, use of lead in shooting would have become illegal long ago.

Research shows that allocating just 2.2% of a farm to flower-rich habitat more than doubled the density of bumblebee colonies, which in turn boosts productivity.

Tree planting can make a real difference, but arbitrary tree planting targets neglect to consider what trees, where they should be planted and what impact they would have on wildlife. 

It is important that, in addition to rewarding farmers and estate managers for planting new hedgerows, any policy should support them to look after what we already have and improve and enhance existing hedgerows.

It is alarming to see the imbalance caused by garden bird feeders laid out for clearly. Whilst well-intentioned, reports that it is boosting numbers of our more common garden birds and, in turn, threatening their subordinate counterparts, such as the willow tit and pied flycatcher should be a real cause for concern.

In addressing carbon emissions from our peatlands we must not forget that 92% of these releases come from; crops, grazing and forestry.

Anyone wishing to abandon a land use that has best preserved and protected some of the rarest habitat on earth – open heather moorland – must be clear about what they are proposing to replace grouse shooting with.