Rewilding
Just been reading the latest RSPB magazine and in particular the article about Rewilding. Having read this it seems to me that the notions of Experiencing Freedom and Rewilding make good bed fellows for the future, particularly when considering the economic case as described in the article. I just wonder what other CTers think about the subject. Of interest to me was the £13 million pound injected into the economy of the German Hartz region with the increased tourism generated after the reintroduction of Lynx into the area. 54% of all visitors said that the Lynx were a significant factor in their choice of this area to visit.
Maybe, similar projects could impact equally in areas here in Great Britain. Any thoughts?
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sorry I'll admit to this freely but what is rewilding?
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Why did these rich muppets decide that Mid Wales was a good place. Masses of funding and railroading the locals. Why don't they do it at home (NIMBYS) and rewild the Downs and the New Forest. Already plenty of wild ponies and deer to feed their wolves and other carnivores they want to introduce. Our answer is S.d O.f.. Yes of course they don't own an acre of the land here but have been to the University of Attenborough. We call hem Bunny Huggers.
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Wild boar in the Forest of Dean are giving problems?
Beavers have been reintroduced some areas of UK
Red kite are now very common
Pine Martin's are being reintroduced in areas to "control " grey squrrels
Wolves in Scotland?
Eagles to IOW?
But then some farming communities are up in arms about it as with anything that does not increase their profits
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There are always going to be concerns with the reintroduction of top preditors, some rational and some irrational, I understand that but the Rewilding of environments like meadows, water courses, wetlands and forests etc surely is more palatable and positive isn't it?
I've seen first hand the excellent work in various places involved in The Chalk Stream Projects. Fabulous work improving habitats benefiting both flora and fauna. More needed in my opinion.
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Rewilding, Corners, involves the careful & controlled reintroduction of species that have departed from certain areas, either by habitat reduction or hunting or similar.
The claim for introduction of lynx & wolves in the Scottish Highlands for instance is that they would, over time, reduce the numbers of Female deer to tolerable levels. Hunters don't want females, they only want big stags and big displays of antlers. So no hunter will pay for the females tho' butchers might. Why the deer, well they are in big numbers and as such are changing the natural plant growth, to the detriment of capercaillie, grouse & mountain Hare for instance.
Seems reasonable
but they've a lot of folk to convince yet I think.0 -
There is far, far more to the concept of Rewilding! It's not all about reintroduction of top preditors, let's put them aside for one moment. It's also about the reintroduction of habitats and 'lesser' species too. Some against such initiatives concentrate on the pinicle preditors which could occupy these suggested areas in order to raise objections to changes in land use. The reintroduction of water vole, brown trout, reptiles, amphibians or certain insects including butterflies etc. are overlooked as is the natural reintroduction of some species. Some against these project often belittled supporters calling then bunny or tree huggers. Has anyone every been attacked by a wild rabbit or aggressive oak tree?
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Micky-We have long done our bit as you say, but this scheme was to reintroduce wolves and other preditors whilst curtailing the farming community from protecting their sheep flocks. These people don't own a single acre of the land involved. We have plenty of stewardship schemes already in place to do as you suggest and those schemes are well under way.
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I've no idea what this 'project' was advocating so can't comment. Would be interesting to know mind in order to weight up the advantages or disadvantages or the 'reasons' for the objections. As far as wolves are concerned there would have to be an incredible amount of work to do, far more than that sum would achieve. Was it a case of jumping to the last possibility in order to stop the far more achievable and sensible from happening?
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No but I have been threatened by a gang of Badger Baiters, who were attacking a sett near i live, Yes, I filmed them, Wildlife Crime is never very far away.
Government supporting Culling a protected species does NOT help.
White Tailed Eagles shot in West Highlands, Short Eared Owls and Hen Harriers shot over Grouse Moors. Lapwings and Skylarks minced to death on their nests because of intensive Dairy Farming and Sileage cutting. Polluting of rivers due to muck spreading, so much so, that some rivers in Mid Wales are effectively 'Dead'.
Yes, the Whole of the UK needs 'Re Wilding' including Mid and West Wales.
AND I am NOT a 'city dweller'.
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When walking one of our collies in the Cotswolds a game keeper threatened us with dire consequences if we did not keep him on his lead, as there was livestock in the fields, which as we told him we knew and his "livestock"were not fully matured game birds who would be put up by beaters for the guns of the rich the next weekend even though they would not have the strength or maturity to gain enough height to stand a chance ,he then just drove off on his quad bike as he could not give a reasoned reply
Ps We were on the public class five road that runs near the Notgrove club site to Salperton village,
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Thanks
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Some great of you might recall how appalled we were driving the roads of North Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago, dead pheasants everywhere.
This is an interesting article about where some of the estates are, and the importation of chicks from overseas. They are called livestock initially, subject to tax schemes, then become “wild” birds upon release. Huge sums of money involved. It’s not uncommon for people to come across thousands of discarded carcasses dumped illegally after a shoot has taken place either.
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Mickysf
Please study my first reply to Corners Especially the first sentence.
Nowhere there did I mention Top predators or similar.
I only used wolves / lynx in Scotland as an example -- It could easily have been brown trout in chalk streams or various butterflies over the Downs.
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Until the punishment starts to fit the crime, ie Gamekeeper AND Shoot syndicate being severly punished, jail time and loss of Shotgun certificate for the Gamekeeper. AND fines related to value of land owned by syndicate, say 10% of value. This type of Wildlife Crime will continue.
The loss of Shotgun Certificates for ALL syndicate members would probably hit harder. And be more effective.
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I know you didn't! Careful observation will reveal that I attributed the reference to top preditors to no one other than the article in the OP. although others mention them! Our posts abut each other purely by synchronology, that's just how these things work something some fall foul of. In fact, I agree with the rest of your points completely.
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Yes humans are the top preditor now. Remember life and everything else has changed since wolves and bears etc roamed the land. As an example the huge rise in population and people living and working in the areas that were then wild. These fancy ideas have no place in modern life. Environmental enhancement yes and it is going on all over the UK. Unfortunately armchair environmentalists have taken over the agenda with "save this and that". One issue terrorists and wanabe lovies. It is much more complex and man needs to reach a balance but not get these ideas foisted on the local population, who usually have more knowledge than the pen pushers.
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The information I've seen estimates that there are between 2 and 4 million Muntjac's in the SE of England alone, which more that the whole population of them in China. The main reason is we don't tend to eat Muntjac whereas the Chinese do.
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Well that is one opinion, possibly an extreme one some may say. Not all Rewilding projects fit the description some have made. Not all environmentalist are as described. Using derogatory names and generalisations I'm afraid only cheapens discussions. Sad really because mankind really needs to acknowledge the part we play in balancing our impact on what in effect is a shared World, shared with life forms across the whole planet.
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If it wasn’t for the people you denigrate there would be no need for farmers, the balance needs striking, the world would be an empty place devoid of any life that couldn’t be exploited if the destroyers held sway. It’s always nice to have your happy positive self back on CT dispensing personal wisdom.
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