Culture wars by ministers over the reintroduction of animals such as the beaver and the lynx must end if we are to restore nature in England, the head of the government’s taskforce on the issue has said.
Dr Andy Clements, an ornithologist who helped establish the government regulator Natural England, runs the species reintroduction taskforce, and he’s well placed to do so. He was one of those behind the hugely successful reintroduction of red kites into England.
He said he was frustrated by the debate over reintroducing species because it was based on “anecdote, not evidence”, when it is clear that increasing the abundance of rare and locally extinct species by releasing them into the wild can help restore nature.
“Please don’t make this a culture wars thing” should be a preface to every government activity now
It’s all a culture war though. There are people who value nature and diversity of native species and people who don’t.
I can understand the farmer’s reluctance to beavers. Those little dudes make radical changes to the landscape. Yes, that’s a good thing for the ecosystem, but I’m sure the farmers are feeling some NIMBY.
There’s a dam a short walk from my camp in the swamp. It created a pond about of an acre so, rich with wildlife and carnivorous plants. On the other side, water pours into a small, perfectly clear creek. Kinda kind blowing to think a small mammal did all that.
No idea what the complaints are about for the other animals.
Somebody tell the farmers about chinampas. Problem solved.
Edit: Really there are all manner of silvopasture techniques that can be used to produce a profitable harvest while living in harmony with the beavers and other critters.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Culture wars by ministers over the reintroduction of animals such as the beaver and the lynx must end if we are to restore nature in England, the head of the government’s taskforce on the issue has said.
Dr Andy Clements, an ornithologist who helped establish the government regulator Natural England, runs the species reintroduction taskforce, and he’s well placed to do so.
“Our main task is to improve the quality and quantity of species reintroductions that contribute to nature’s recovery and that they’re done in a way that society finds acceptable or even delights about.
“And while the taskforce hasn’t overtly gone and said anything about that, one of the pieces of work we are doing is to look at the social and ecological implications of reestablishing the broad predator guild in England.
Officials have created a licensing programme which would give conservation groups permission under certain conditions to release beavers into the wild, but ministers have so far refused to sign it off.
“One of the things that is very disappointing for the taskforce is that species reintroductions can make a really significant contribution to the government’s targets on nature’s recovery.
The original article contains 955 words, the summary contains 192 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
