Sunday 10 December 2023
Saturday 9 December 2023
Poisonous
Day 160 #365DaysWild
Banning of poisonous lead ammunition
Tom Heap interviewed Liam Stokes, CEO of British Game Assurance, on BBC Countryfile broadcast on Sunday 12 December 2021. His industry has been granted a voluntary scheme which sees lead shot being ‘phased out’ by 2025. He wasn’t put through the wringer.
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Hen pheasants with chicks |
We were told that tests have shown 179 out of 180 game birds tested contained poisonous lead shot. In law there is no maximum limit of lead in game and no safe limit of lead for humans.
Across the North Sea the EU widely uses steel shot - not lead.
Stokes asserted that game is ‘local’. It isn’t.
Over 27 million hatching eggs or poults of partridges and pheasants were imported into the UK from EU countries in 2019.
He asserted that it is ‘sustainable’. It isn’t.
6000 tons of lead are used in shooting each year. The shot not penetrating birds is scattered across wetlands and farmlands.
55 million pheasants are released into the British countryside each year - greater than the weight of all our songbirds. The inhumane consequence of this massive release is that many pheasants are killed or maimed on our roads. During shoots, many birds are not killed outright. The presence of this huge number of pheasants leads to excess numbers of pheasant predators e.g. foxes, crows, rats, badgers, magpies. The effects of releases of pheasants on invertebrates are considerable. Clearly, the unregulated release of such a massive number of birds does not mesh with steps to control avian flu and its possible crossover to humans.
That protected species such as woodcock and snipe can and are shot legally as ‘game’ in the UK is impossible to understand.
Grouse shooting is as far from ‘sustainable’ as can be imagined. It is largely undertaken on an industrial scale with intensively-reared and released birds on driven grouse moors. This monoculture is associated with illegality- especially illegal raptor persecution and the catastrophic decline of hen harriers.
Stokes also spoke of trees being planted. Tree cover is planted for pheasants. However, through systematic burning, the driven grouse industry eradicates trees creating barren moors with consequent effects on water retention and flooding downstream.
The intervening years until the voluntary ban could lead to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary bird deaths attributed to ingesting lead shot according to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. One in four migratory swans die of lead poisoning.
Lead shot and the ‘legal’ shooting of endangered birds should be banned immediately.
The impact of the release of millions of game birds is demonstrably detrimental to biodiversity in our countryside as well being inhumane and having clear risks to public health.
Influential vested interests advocate for the shooting business- worth £68 million pa and rising.
The echoes of those previously advocating for the tobacco or oil industries are uncomfortable.
The shooting industry is not ‘sustainable’.
Urgent!!
Consultation on lead ammunition closes at midnight Sunday evening.
Posted by
Rob
at
12:04
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Friday 8 December 2023
Strangulations
Day 159 #365DaysWild
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Rob
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23:07
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Thursday 7 December 2023
The canary in the coal mine ...
Day 158 #365DaysWild
Nature and the quality of the food we eat are, in my opinion, inextricably linked.
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Organically grown fruit |
Healthy, nutrient-rich food cannot be grown in over-ploughed ground that is drenched in artificial fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. 'The canary in the coal mine' is biodiversity. Where soil and food production are healthy and in sympathy with nature, wildlife will be able to flourish and the food produced will have greater health benefits. I refer you to the excellent science shared in the Zoe podcast 'The truth about organic food' in which they discuss the risks to health of eating food that is not grown organically.
Yesterday, Sam Knowlton (Agronomy Consultant)
drew attention to an article in the journal 'Nature' published on 30 November 2023 on the deterioration in the food quality of rice and wheat over a fifty year period.
I quote:
'Rice and wheat, two of the most crucial food staples worldwide, have experienced a significant decline in nutritional quality over the past 50 years.
The essential mineral concentration in rice has decreased by 36%, while in wheat, it has dropped by 57%.
At the same time, toxic elements like aluminum have increased by as much as 78%.
This deficiency in nutritional quality, coupled with elevated concentrations of toxic elements, lies at the heart of the overfed yet undernourished paradox.
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Home grown green beans |
As I write, a significant proportion of the nation faces a cost of living crisis. Simply keeping warm and providing enough food for themselves and their families consumes every waking hour for far too many people.
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Growing our own organic food is better for us and better for nature |
Producing healthy, regenerative food that people can afford is achievable with sufficient political will. The potential beneficial impact on health and quality of life have been demonstrated. The long-term benefits to the NHS in preventing food-related health conditions could be significant.
Posted by
Rob
at
20:58
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Wednesday 6 December 2023
Sage..
Day 157 #365DaysWild
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‘Dead hedges’ are built up using twigs, sticks and branches and the arisings from perennials in the beds and meadows. They provide ideal places for invertebrates, mammals, birds and herpetofauna. |
removing everything to our dead hedges before spring growth, helping wildlife and removing the need for smoky bonfires.
Posted by
Rob
at
11:57
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Tuesday 5 December 2023
Monday 4 December 2023
Flood
Day 155 #365DaysWild
Posted by
Rob
at
21:12
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Sunday 3 December 2023
Saturday 2 December 2023
Friday 1 December 2023
House sparrows
Posted by
Rob
at
06:52
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Thursday 30 November 2023
Dusting
Day 151 #365DaysWild
Posted by
Rob
at
09:45
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Wednesday 29 November 2023
Tuesday 28 November 2023
Full moon waning
Day 150 #365DaysWild
Posted by
Rob
at
09:04
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Monday 27 November 2023
Rich winter vegetable soup
Day 149 #365DaysWild
Posted by
Rob
at
10:24
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