A sunny day back at the Game Fair.
I was part of a discussion about 'rewilding' - which was less about the type of habitat recreation the RSPB has done at Lakenheath, and more about species reintroductions and introductions, past and present.
The subject of a reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to East Anglia came up. It's amazing how scared the landed gentry seem to be about a bit more nature in their lives! Anyone would think that the plan was to let tigers go in central London! Don't they know that white-tailed eagles are living in many European countries from the Netherlands to Poland without eating babies, destroying farming productivity or wrecking the rural economy?
It occurred to me that quite a few of the introduced species that people have problems with were released in the past by the landed gentry. Grey squirrels, Muntjac deer and Canada geese all were released from stately homes. Should we be applying the 'polluter pays' principle and seeking redress from their successors?
I offered a tongue-very-firmly-in-cheek deal - we'll forget eagle reintroductions when the release of 30 million non-native pheasants each year is halted.
Lots of good discussions today and the Game Fair bingo score rose to 11 out of 20. The weather forecast looks a bit dodgy for tomorrow.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.