This is a Red Grouse video.
By Peter Lazenby in England:
Campaigners stage protest over moorland burning
Saturday 22nd February 2014
Environmentalists say taxpayer-funded torching of grouse moors increases flooding in valleys
Environmental campaigners picketed the headquarters of government-backed Natural England in Sheffield yesterday to protest against taxpayers’ cash being used to fund the burning of moorland.
The campaigners — armed with symbolic mops, buckets and placards demanding: “Don’t fund flooding” — warned that burning moorland to make it suitable for grouse-rearing and shooting contributed to the flooding which has devastated valleys beneath the moors.
Some protesters were from the West Yorkshire Pennine town of Hebden Bridge, which in June 2012 was devastated by floods after water poured down roads and tracks from moorland above the town.
The campaigners said that moorland burning above the community contributed to the fast run-off of water during heavy rain.
Following the floods locals launched a Ban the Burn campaign.
Supporter Jim Peterken said: “Millions of pounds of public money is currently paid out as ‘stewardship’ to grouse-moor owners who are burning on blanket bog.
“As well as being detrimental to a designated priority habitat, this form of moorland management decreases the ability of the peat to store the water, and the bare ground increases run-off.
“The general public may be interested in the issue that our hard-earned public tax is being paid to rich landowners to flood us.”
The campaigners pointed out that grouse moor owners are being paid millions of pounds through the environmental stewardship scheme to protect the uplands.
Recent research by South West Water showed that restoring blanket bogs can reduce flood risk downstream.
Police were called to yesterday’s demonstration.
Protester Sue Turner added: “Management at Natural England told staff not to report to work because of the protest. They completely over-reacted.”
The protesters handed in a letter telling Natural England that action on reducing run-off from the uplands is urgent to minimise flood risk downstream.
It said burning on blanket bog should be banned and that stewardship funding should promote the restoration of blanket bog, not their degradation.
Reblogged this on Time for Action.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Green Living London.
LikeLike
Thanks for reblogging!
LikeLike
Not so sure I agree with these article but each to their own, I guess. My comment on the attached video might trigger the conservation minded folk to rethink things too.
LikeLike
Hi Tony, what is your point on the hunting-burning-flooding relationship please?
LikeLike
I assume you mean my view, well I’d just state as in so many other cases of natural disaster or whatever happens to be a talking point, somebody always has to point the finger of blame at someone. In the UK, we call it “blame culture” and we are quite well known for it. Conservation is often very complex and without the burning of grouse moors, you would have a much poorer habitat which would not be able to hold the diversity of species it currently holds. Some form of management has to take place across all our lands and without these actions, the biodiversity of such places would ultimately decline. We do need to reforest our uplands as well, so there clearly is a requirement for more diverse landscapes over here in the UK and most probably across the world. In my view, Climate Change is here to stay.
LikeLike
Thanks, Tony for your explanation! I think you correctly mention reforestation of uplands. However, that goes against the interests of the grouse shooting lobby. Quite probably, there may be now more burning of grouse mooors, for the sake of shooting, than would be necessary for biodiversity.
LikeLike
For the RSPB’s anti-burning view, see
LikeLike
Pingback: Stop burning British peatland, RSPB says | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: English hen harrier news | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British government hates wildflowers | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: World War I and British farmworkers | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: English grouse shooting kills hen harriers | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Grouse, hen harrier shooting scandal in Britain | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British civil liberties threatened | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British grouse shooting and flooding | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: English sculpture commemorates World War I | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: After blaming gays, UKIP blames refugees for British flooding | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: English floods, natural and governmental disaster | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British government helps flooding | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Grouse killing worsens British flooding | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Grouse-shooting lobby bribing British Conservative politicians | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British grouse-shooting industry causes many problems | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: English demonstration against flood-causing grouse killing | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: English ‘toff’ poachers kill birds of prey | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Beavers, crucial for biodiversity, against flooding | Dear Kitty. Some blog