Quite suddenly, I find myself in my late fifties.
I used to climb mountains. Occasionally, and slowly, but with determination, expending a great deal of breath in the process and reeling when I finally reached the top, exhilarated and energised, ahead of my descent and journey home. These days I can't do it; I can sometimes manage a modest hill, the summit of which might still provide an expansive view, but the feeling of achievement is not quite the same and the horizon is a little closer. Now I come to think of it, it's a metaphor for my life I suppose, the hard slog with a sense of purpose that I had in my twenties and thirties, the lust for adventure and excitement, and the need to succeed. That thirst mellowed somewhat in my forties as I settled down; taking enjoyment, in what I had by now achieved, from memories and perhaps intermittent excursions into the same territory I'd previously explored. Now in my late fifties, I have regrettably become a little cynical about the world - no, let me correct that - cynical about many of the people in the world. For I love the world, with a passion. The miracle that this strange planet is; don't try to tell me it's all evolved somehow, that zillions of years ago, by chance, a protein soup formed and birthed everything from a butterfly to a bird, to a platypus, to a panda, to a whale. To an ape? Not to mention the flowers, the trees. Perfection, truly. Beautiful designs; not the random by-products of a chemical broth. Still, I can't understand where a human fits into all this. Man seems completely incongruous on earth, as though he found himself here, dropped from the clutches of some giant space-travelling bird of prey, as it glided across the universe, over planets and moons, on its way to some dark place at the edge of everything - which may well be mankind's natural environment. But somehow he landed in paradise and began to destroy it. Adam in the garden of Eden. It is tragic that humans, alone, have blighted paradise. My hope is that somewhere a parallel world exists, free from humankind. The dilemma is that I want to be there to enjoy it, and yet I must not be there, if it is as beautiful as Earth. Then again, here's a thought, if souls exist (as they surely do), then perhaps it's like the Egyptians told us - our souls can, if we have lived a virtuous life here, go on to dwell forever in a utopia that is a mirror image of our earthly existence. A world as beautiful as Earth but safe from our calamitous meddling; in spirit form surely we could not inflict harm on that which is physical? I'll go with that, it feels logical and right, not that logic plays much part in this earthly realm - and not that I can assume I have lived a virtuous life, for that matter; I doubt it somehow. I'll have to wait and see how I am judged in that regard. Meanwhile, there are wonders to behold; so ever onwards...
Photo by Louis Maniquet on Unsplash
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* Natural England's notorious lethal control licences are open to abuse
* 'Pitiful' punishment is no deterrent to illegal hunting of wildlife * "It is not possible to bear witness to all licensable activities" says Natural England Natural England's lethal control licences are open to abuse and they can't be effectively monitored. That's why today I'm encouraging everyone to report suspected abuse of licences - and I'm highlighting an easy way to do this. Illegal hunting enabled by Natural England's licences? Natural England recently rejected our plan that would have seen independent monitoring of their lethal control licences, amid suggestions that the current system might be facilitating illegal hunting. So I asked them to explain what measures they have in place themselves to combat licence abuse. It seems that the answer is very little. What's more, it appears that there isn't much punishment in store for those abusing the licences. Whole licensing system open to abuse It turns out that, in the absence of their own comprehensive monitoring, Natural England do rely on members of the public to 'monitor' their licences after all, albeit unofficially. All of this follows my discussions with Natural England over reports that uncontrolled killing of Cormorants might be taking place by a number of unscrupulous hunters, exploiting Natural England's notorious lethal control licences. I fear that other species too might be suffering the same fate. The whole licensing system is open to potential abuse simply because so many licences are issued and there is no way for Natural England to effectively and comprehensively oversee the actions they permit. So what punishment is in store for those who are found to have used the licences illegally? Not much it appears. 'Punishment' for illegal hunting of Cormorants: a warning letter and a telephone call... Even when a licence holder blatantly disregards the terms of their licence, there seems to be precious little punishment. Natural England told me "Where licence holders have shot too many birds or done so outside of the licensing period, this often results in an official warning letter. Any warning letters that have been issued are followed up with a compliance visit or telephone call the following year." The threat of a warning letter followed by a telephone call (the following year)? For a wildlife crime. Hardly a deterrent is it? Perhaps, if it emerges that licence abuse is more widespread, Natural England might take it more seriously. And that's where we come in, please read on.... "Not possible to bear witness to all licensable activities...we do rely on the public" Confirming their reliance on help from the public, Natural England said, "It is not possible to bear witness to all licensable activities, so outside of internal compliance activities we do rely on members of the public....to report suspicious activity so that we can take targeted action where required." This seems like a fairly weak strategy for a government agency tasked with protecting wildlife. If they can't effectively monitor their own licences, then perhaps they should drastically reduce the number of licences they issue in the first place. Of course this brings into question their culling licences for other species, and not just those they issue for bird control. Reporting suspicious activity by email In respect of Cormorants, Natural England told me that they have received only a 'small number' of suspected incidents of licence abuse, "we are not privy to any robust evidence which suggests widespread abuse of the licensing system," they say. But you could argue that this merely reflects the fact that there has been no clear way for the public to alert them to a problem. Today that changes. In a small but significant step forward - with Natural England's permission - I'm publishing a direct email address so that members of the public can alert Natural England to any apparently illegal activity associated with their licences. We should all keep a close eye on our own local wildlife populations and report suspicious activity directly to Natural England (in addition to the nearest wildlife crime officer). This includes accounts of alleged wildlife crimes found on social media. Natural England should then log and investigate those reports. If anyone suspects abuse of wildlife control licences, such as illegal shooting, they should contact Natural England directly at: [email protected] I'd suggest asking for a reference number and also to be kept informed of any subsequent investigations. Disorganised and not fit for purpose Yes, the licensing system seems to be disorganised and not fit for purpose. And yes, the punishments for those found abusing the licences seem pitifully inadequate. But for now we have to work with what we have. So please do keep a close eye on your local populations of Cormorants and all other protected wildlife. If you see or suspect illegal killing taking place then please do report it. I'm publishing Natural England's full response to my enquiries (below). In it they refer specifically to Cormorants but their explanation doubtless applies to much of their other licensing activities too. They use a lot of words, but I think we can perhaps conclude from it that Natural England has no practical ability to manage the lethal control activity that their licences permit - licences that might actually be facilitating hunting rather than protecting our wildlife. Please see my note following their response. From Head of Natural England Wildlife Licensing Service (NEWLS), National Delivery Dear Jason, Thank you for your patience with this matter. I have now spoken with colleagues in my team and can give you some background information on how and when compliance activities take place, in regard to licensing the lethal control of cormorants. Having read your blog, it appears a number of your followers have come across posts on social media accounts which indicate illegal activity is taking place or that licences are being abused. To be clear, in the first instance, for anyone who suspects that illegal shooting is taking place, they should make contact with a wildlife crime officer to report the incident. In addition, any social media reports which suggest that individuals or groups are abusing licences should be forwarded to Natural England for investigation. The wildlife licensing team can also undertake checks to see if licences are in place, where reported lethal control is occurring. I have made contact with my team who manage concerns from members of the public, who tell me no such recent reports have been made. I have undertaken a thorough look into our compliance and enforcement activity relating to cormorants over the last two years and can give an overview of the sorts of situations we have handled. Since the 2020/21 licensing season, we have dealt with: 3 incidents of shooting more birds than the licence permits 6 incidents of birds being shot outside of the licensable period 2 licences were revoked on the outcome of an enforcement investigation 5 referrals to the police for further investigation. Of the police referrals made, the cases concluded closed without further investigation or resulted in a community resolution. Where licence holders have shot too many birds or done so outside of the licensing period, this often results in an official warning letter. Any warning letters that have been issued are followed up with a compliance visit or telephone call the following year. This is to ensure they continue to understand and comply with the terms and conditions of the licence. If licence breaches were to persist, we would treat repeat incidents as ‘significant’ which means revoking licences or instigating an investigation leading which could lead to prosecution. As we grant approximately 600 cormorant licences over a 2-year period, the above incidents only account for a small number of the total licensed figures. Across our licensing work, we are committed to undertaking compliance activities for some of the licences we grant and this figure is increased where there is justification for doing so. For example, the species being impacted is of conservation concern and the proposed activities are considered high risk for the species. As cormorants are a green listed species which have increased by 50% based on a 25-year trend, they are not currently flagging as a compliance concern for wildlife licensing, and we are not privy to any robust evidence which suggests widespread abuse of the licensing system. The regulators code is clear in stating that: “Regulators should take an evidence-based approach to determining the priority risks in their area of responsibility and should allocate resources where they would be most effective in addressing those priority risks.” If a consecutive decline in cormorants indices continues beyond this current trend, and they become a species of conservation concern, we will review our approach to licensing and compliance to ensure favourable conservation status is not negatively impacted by lethal control. Having said the above, as a team we are concerned about the impacts of our licensing work on the spread of Avian Influenza which is having a devastating effect on birds across the UK. Consequently, we have placed additional restrictions on cormorant control activities this year and therefore will be undertaking increased compliance checks this season and once the returns information has been submitted. As you correctly point out in your email, the licensing system does rely on the honesty and integrity of the user, however this is not an issue restricted to wildlife licensing. It is not possible to bear witness to all licensable activities, so outside of internal compliance activities we do rely on members of the public and others to report suspicious activity so that we can take targeted action where required. I hope I have sufficiently outlined our compliance approach to cormorant licensing above, but if you have any further questions, I am happy to respond. Kind regards, Note: In their response Natural England maintain that Cormorant populations have increased over a 25 year period. This may be true in general, but other data in fact shows a decline in the birds core breeding areas across Europe, and a drop in UK populations in the shorter term. And why do we have to wait until a population decreases to the point of being threatened before we take action? As I've said before, with thousands of the birds being killed in England alone to 'protect inland fisheries', we might not have to look too far for an explanation of the population decline. Let's not forget that the government generated £24,583,342 in income from fishing licences between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. We shouldn't be conjuring with figures to suit financial agendas when it comes to wildlife conservation. And we shouldn't forget that the appalling state of our rivers through total mismanagement, is a much bigger threat to fish stocks than Cormorants could ever be. Humans are at the core of all ecological imbalance, it's a fact. That email address again, for reporting suspected wildlife licence abuse: [email protected] |
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July 2023
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