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[Yellow Bear]

49 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

I wish my neighbouring farmers/landowners would take some action to control ragwort, and it continually spreads onto my land and has to be hand pulled which is getting to be an overwhelming burden of man hours.

Correct me if I am wrong but was it not an offence to not take action?

[oldypigeonpopper]

17 hours ago, steve_b_wales said:

FACEBOOK Group 'Protect the Wild' have posted this on their page:

We are happy to announce that our undercover footage of the badger cull showing the awful handling of dead badgers is to be featured in Sir Brian May's upcoming documentary on BBC 2 about the badger cull.

Tune in on Friday 23rd at 9pm for a very informative one hour film on why badger culling simply isn't the solution.

Hello, How were they able to do undercover filming ?? i thought it was closed off when culling badgers ??

[steve_b_wales]

This, from the Countryside Alliance.

The BBC has been plunged into a row over a 'biased' documentary about the culling of badgers fronted by animal rights campaigner Sir Brian May.

Sir Brian, 77, the former Queen guitarist, claimed his documentary, which will be broadcast on BBC2 on Friday, will 'outrage' viewers and likened its revelations to the Post Office scandal.

But countryside campaigners last night warned BBC boss Tim Davie that commissioning the film by Sir Brian, a fierce critic of badger culling who has campaigned against it for decades, is 'fundamentally incompatible' with BBC impartiality rules.

Tens of thousands of badgers have been killed in England since 2013 in a bid to stop them spreading TB to cattle and to eradicate the disease in the UK by 2038.

The culling is hugely controversial: wildlife campaigners claim it is ineffective and 'inhumane' but many farmers believe reducing the number of badgers is critical to stop their livelihoods being destroyed.

Sir Brian will argue in the documentary that badgers have been 'scapegoated' and will discuss his involvement in a 'ground-breaking four year experiment to eradicate the disease, and without harming badgers'.

Queen legend Brian May blasts Labour over its badger culling stance 

But in a hard-hitting letter to Tim Davie, seen by The Mail on Sunday, Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, accused the Corporation of allowing a campaigner with 'clearly partisan views' to front a current affairs programme.

Sir Brian appeared to have been commissioned by the BBC 'precisely because of his partisan activism and the profile he has built for himself surrounding it,' he wrote.

'The decision to do so is fundamentally incompatible with the BBC's obligation to be impartial.'

He highlighted how during a 2015 Newsnight debate on fox hunting Sir Brian branded pro-hunting campaigners 'a bunch of lying ********'.

Tory MP Greg Smith said: 'Yet again the BBC is taking an incredibly biased approach to rural affairs and farming matters. This is an insult to every farmer that has had to put down entire herds because of TB.'

He claimed badgers are 'livestock destroying disease carriers' and that bovine TB cases had 'dropped considerably' in cull areas.

Last night Gareth Wyn Jones, a farmer in North Wales who was interviewed as part of May's documentary, said he fears the programme will not be balanced. Seven of his cows were destroyed after TB was detected in November 2022.

Gang of badgers terrorise village after gnawing through pipes to leave families without water with one even breaking into a house to scare a cat 

'In my belief they have got no scientific evidence. We have heard Brian May speak … he and his team really believe that all of the TB happens on the farm - it is either brought in by other cattle or there is cross contamination with the slurry. So literally blaming the farmer.'

Mr Wyn Jones, 57, a former BBC presenter, told the filmmakers that badgers are also responsible for declining numbers of hedgehogs and ground nesting birds on his farm - but he does not believe this was included in the documentary.

'How is a rock star going to come along and save our farms?,'

Fourth generation dairy farmer Steve Evans, 45, recently made the devastating decision to sell his farm in Pembrokeshire, which has been in his family for around 100 years, after 180 of his cows, more than a third of his herd, had to be humanely slaughtered because of TB in the last year.

He described the BBC's decision to allow Sir Brian to host such a contentious programme as 'short-sighted', adding. 'It's an extremely one-eyed view.'

Controversial badger cull to stop cows catching TB has 'no scientific basis', research claims  

The badger cull formed a central pillar of the Conservative government's efforts to reduce TB in cattle. 

It was, however, banned by the Welsh government and Labour has also pledge to end it in England, although it will allow existing cull licences to continue until 2026.

The BBC said: 'While this is a first person piece authored by Sir Brian May, the documentary hears from numerous voices in the debate on badger culling, including farmers. 

'The BBC adheres to strict editorial guidelines on impartiality on this matter.'

Sir Brian did not respond to requests for comment.

Edited August 19, 2024 by steve_b_wales

[JohnfromUK]

30 minutes ago, Yellow Bear said:

Correct me if I am wrong but was it not an offence to not take action?

It is commonly thought so - but not in fact the case.  One of my neighbours with a lot of ragwort is in fact English Nature/Natural England/Nature Conservancy of whatever they are calling themselves this week.

https://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-law.html

[Yellow Bear]

1 hour ago, JohnfromUK said:

It is commonly thought so - but not in fact the case.  One of my neighbours with a lot of ragwort is in fact English Nature/Natural England/Nature Conservancy of whatever they are calling themselves this week.

https://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-law.html

👍

[Bigbob]

15 hours ago, ShootingEgg said:

He is filming with a farmer to prove they don't spread tb as badly as all the farmers say and we shouldn't be shooting them etc. it will be a one sided biased program

 

Yep the only way i would watch this biased **** was if Clarkson was on it 

[old man]

6 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, How were they able to do undercover filming ?? i thought it was closed off when culling badgers ??

Maybe it's a bit like everything else where rules and laws mysteriously become non existent, enabling some to educate others or carry out their own  adjenda?

BBC. Impartiality? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 how delightful?

Edited August 19, 2024 by old man

[Vince Green]

Judging by the number of dead badgers I see on the side of the road there must be a large population  in this country. It's not like they are a rare species in need of protection. 

[oowee]

21 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

Judging by the number of dead badgers I see on the side of the road there must be a large population  in this country. It's not like they are a rare species in need of protection. 

Now you don't see many here, anywhere. 🤣 

[12gauge82]

Most of the cattle farmers I know are firmly of the belief that badgers are a major cause of TB spread in herds. Although interestingly I know a couple who believe culling badgers will make no difference, which I thought was an interesting perspective. 

[oowee]

It has already made a huge difference. There is for some cull areas a rise in TB immediately following the cull, as a result of target redistribution and cattle entering ground previously occupied. Following that the numbers of infections has fallen dramatically. There is somewhere a research paper which sets this out. 

I have met a number that thought it would make no difference and refused to contribute. Still happy that their land be added to the zoning map to reach threshold requirements.

[Mice!]

On 19/08/2024 at 09:11, JohnfromUK said:

slight aside, one of my main 'crops' is baled hay for horses.  I wish my neighbouring farmers/landowners would take some action to control ragwort, and it continually spreads onto my land and has to be hand pulled which is getting to be an overwhelming burden of man hours.

I was reading something the other day from Cumbria wildlife saying they just cut it out before any bailing do it doesn't get in the feed, it may be easier for you?

But it definitely sounds like your neighbours need to get on board.

[JohnfromUK]

Just now, Mice! said:

I was reading something the other day from Cumbria wildlife saying they just cut it out before any bailing do it doesn't get in the feed, it may be easier for you?

But it definitely sounds like your neighbours need to get on board.

Yes, that's what I do, but I it isn't that easy,

1. If the hay is cut early, the ragwort is present (and poisonous), but not fully grown and no visible flowers - and so very hard to spot in the grass
2. In fact, because we have been careful for many years, the area mown is largely free, but the edges, woodland fringes etc are a danger area as it spreads from there
3. In grazing, it isn't such a big worry because animals won't readily eat the fresh plant .......... but mixed in with grass in dried hay, the animals don't spot it and (horses particularly) can eat it.  It can kill.
4. Just doing the pulling (it actually also needs a 'ragwort fork' (www.millsidestore.co.uk/rag-fork-ltd-edition-black.html) to get the roots out) takes a lot of hours - I must have spend 15-20 hours on it this year.

It didn't used to be a problem because;

1. The land to the north/north west of me (now English Nature/Natural England/Nature Conservancy (state) owned) was properly farmed before they bought it and the farmer there kept it under control.  Now it is covering over with docks, ragwort, willow herb and brambles.  All spreads to neighbouring ground.
2. The land to the west of me is arable - and used to be no problem as like all arable crops, weeds were vigorously controlled.  Now the headlands are subsidised to be left uncultivated (https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/agri-environment-climate-scheme/management-options-and-capital-items/unharvested-conservation-headlands-for-wildlife/) and this is what the estate to the west of me does.  They are not allowed to spray/cultivate the headland - which is ridled with ragwort
3. Both landowners to the south and west of me generally keep their ragwort under control.

[old man]

1 hour ago, Mice! said:

I was reading something the other day from Cumbria wildlife saying they just cut it out before any bailing do it doesn't get in the feed, it may be easier for you?

But it definitely sounds like your neighbours need to get on board.

That's a real task pulling ragwort.

[Mice!]

1 hour ago, JohnfromUK said:

Just doing the pulling (it actually also needs a 'ragwort fork' (www.millsidestore.co.uk/rag-fork-ltd-edition-black.html) to get the roots out) takes a lot of hours - I must have spend 15-20 hours on it this year.

 

45 minutes ago, old man said:

That's a real task pulling ragwort.

I've done it once, up on a grouse moor in Scotland,  there was no shooting one day so the beaters, mostly youngsters spent the morning pulling the stuff up, not a fun thing. 

[Vince Green]

On 19/08/2024 at 11:01, Yellow Bear said:

Correct me if I am wrong but was it not an offence to not take action?

Probably? but who are you going to complain to?

[Yellow Bear]

1 hour ago, Vince Green said:

Probably? but who are you going to complain to?

Good point

[old man]

4 hours ago, Mice! said:

 

I've done it once, up on a grouse moor in Scotland,  there was no shooting one day so the beaters, mostly youngsters spent the morning pulling the stuff up, not a fun thing. 

😓👍

[39TDS]

Quote

We are happy to announce that our undercover footage of the badger cull showing the awful handling of dead badgers

What exactly are they happy about? and as distasteful as it might possibly be what does it matter how dead badgers are handled.

Besides that, how could the supposedly unbiased BBC even agree to him hosting the program in the first place. Not difficult to answer that one of course, they are not unbiased and May's perspective absolutely fits their agenda.

[ditchman]

just to even up this depressing luvvie popstar thread..............

i would like to say that Fergal Sharkey....is my countryside hero.....since finishing his popstar days he has devoted his life to trying to protect our beautiful waterways...by a never ending battle of trying to hold the water companies to task....

a fine fly fisherman and a fine countryman..........a well informed citizen

[TIGHTCHOKE]

13 minutes ago, ditchman said:

just to even up this depressing luvvie popstar thread..............

i would like to say that Fergal Sharkey....is my countryside hero.....since finishing his popstar days he has devoted his life to trying to protect our beautiful waterways...by a never ending battle of trying to hold the water companies to task....

a fine fly fisherman and a fine countryman..........a well informed citizen

Yes he is a good old stick.    

[Penelope]

14 hours ago, ditchman said:

just to even up this depressing luvvie popstar thread..............

i would like to say that Fergal Sharkey....is my countryside hero.....since finishing his popstar days he has devoted his life to trying to protect our beautiful waterways...by a never ending battle of trying to hold the water companies to task....

a fine fly fisherman and a fine countryman..........a well informed citizen

👍

[steve_b_wales]

On 20/08/2024 at 20:45, 39TDS said:

What exactly are they happy about? and as distasteful as it might possibly be what does it matter how dead badgers are handled.

Besides that, how could the supposedly unbiased BBC even agree to him hosting the program in the first place. Not difficult to answer that one of course, they are not unbiased and May's perspective absolutely fits their agenda.

'They' are the Anti's. 

[Dave-G]

Saw this on facebook today:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1016302006805477

[London Best]

6 minutes ago, Dave-G said:

Saw this on facebook today:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1016302006805477

Send it to Springwatch!