Bang

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Circus_cyaneus_female_Seewinkel.jpg

There's not much I can add to what's been said already, other than how appalled I was to read earlier this week about the killing of another Hen Harrier on a UK grouse moor - a cowardly act driven by the greed and stubbornness of a small group of people pandering to the demands of a lucrative hobby (it's no wonder we're the destination of choice for Maltese hunters abroad). But this bird was perhaps not your average Hen Harrier, this bird was known as 'Bowland Betty' - a bird carrying a satellite transmitter as part of a Natural England project. She was in her second year and yet to breed when the tag failed in June this year. A few days later she was found, shot down with a fatal wound to her leg. Interestingly, this news was only just released because, for the first time, high-level tests were successfully completed to determine the details of her death. The story was covered brilliantly on various sites including here and here and perhaps most pertinently, here.

As has been said, I guess it's true that the death of one bird will ultimately count for little, it's fate no worse than any of the countless other raptors illegally killed in the UK each year. But with hen harriers in the final, tragic throes of extinction as a breeding species in England, acts like this are critical. Perhaps we should focus again on that e-word, Extinction, because it seems to have lost it's power to shock and shame mankind. It has flickered briefly in the conscience of the government, who identified hen harriers as one of six priority species in England. Their 2011 'Biodiversity 2020' strategy maintained too that "By 2020, we will see an overall improvement in the status of our wildlife and will have prevented further human-induced extinctions of known threatened species". Yet just a year on, it's clear where we stand again: no urgency, no leadership, no action. Natural England claim they are "deeply concerned" by this event, perhaps they'd like to start demonstrating it. We know a lot about hen harriers and their ecology, we know about diversionary feeding on grouse moors for example...we know the consequences of a failure to act. So how come we find ourselves here?

The RSPB is trying to raise £600,000 by 20th December in order to fund investigations into wildlife crime, including helping to safeguard hen harriers from persecution and supporting efforts to ensure that birds of prey are adequately protected. Good on them - with the season of goodwill upon us, I think this is a gift that could really make a difference.

Reshuffle 2012

Just a short post about the cabinet reshuffle this week. Cheerier news to follow soon I hope (!)

Makes no sense at all

There was a bit of banter in the office yesterday about Cameron's cabinet reshuffle. I noticed a few people had the event scrolling live on their screens and every now and then there were a few 'hmms' out loud. The main response came when it was revealed that Owen Paterson was going to be the new Environment Secretary. His name didn't stick in my head so I looked him up and predictably, it wasn't great news. According to what sources you look at Caroline Spelman's replacement looks like an ideal fit for Cameron. Among other things:

• He hates badgers (apparently he's an 'expert' on Bovine TB) 
• He loves horses
• He likes the possibilities of shale gas exploitation
• He hates wind farms

With a background in rural issues (he was Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 2003-5) you might hope he's got good, well-informed opinions on things like farming, wildlife, hunting and sustainable food production. But when the Countryside Alliance are one of the first groups in to show support for his appointment you probably get an idea of what kind of Environment Secretary we're going to be dealing with. Oh and apparently, he's got £2.2 billion of Defra money to play with. I bet him and Richard Benyon are going to get on like a house on fire. 

I'm not an expert on these things but I would've liked Caroline Spelman to stay. She seemed like a good sort, a generally reliable voice in the ranks. But there's no doubt Cameron is closing ranks around himself now, like a general readying for a siege. It's long been known how this government feels about the environment and how with a total absence of foresight, innovation or reason they see no other way out than to attack it relentlessly. The desperate measures of a desperate man. I guess we'll have to see how things play out. I hope I'm surprised and Paterson et al gives our countryside and the wider environment the respect and support it desperately needs.

Apart from the re-shuffle there was lots of talk about Heathrow too, with the government set to make a U-turn on it's no third runway policy. What do you think about that? Here's what George Monbiot thinks and as ever he really nailed the whole issue in his Guardian blog this week. It's a great piece - short, articulate and powerful. Read it and weep:

The day the world went mad

The sound of silence

There have been a lot of interesting stories going around this week. I was going to put up a whole load of links but thought maybe that would be kinda dull. Instead here's just one that I found really moving and I really wanted to share. It's from the Guardian again:

'A great silence is spreading over the natural world'  

Wow. How to follow that?