Yesterday afternoon we held a Parliamentary reception with the Minerals Products Association. This celebrated the good work that a growing number of mineral extraction companies are doing to create wildlife-rich sites after they have dug big holes in the ground.
The Minister, Richard Benyon, was present and was given a bit of a poke by industry about the loss of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (see earlier blog).
But I can't have a go at the Minister as he described this blog as 'very readable'. And he'd noticed that I said some nice things about him recently - but also noted that I don't always. This is the second time I've heard Mr Benyon mention reading this blog so I do believe he really does.
So, Sooty, redkite, BobPhilpott, nightjar, jockyshield and others you are in good company! Although wouldn't it be funny if one of you were Mr Benyon? Sooty - it isn't you is it?
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
Why does this Blog always defer back to bTB? I know it's an important and controversial subject but this isn't the bTB discussion Blog!
From what limited discussion (mainly on here) I have seen on the subject it seem the only sure way of stopping bTB is to eradicate badgers and other wildlife that carry the disease (do any other species act as carriers?) completely from the UK. Is anyone suggesting this? I don't like the idea of that very much myself!
I know a little more about other diseases which are carried by animals and can infect humans and by removing a group of carriers from an area for a time period there will be no sign of the infection. However, when environmental conditions become more favourable other will invade this space and the disease will reappear. So just because the disease has disappeared fora few years doesn't mean the method of gassing small areas works.
It's a pity that so many of these blogs get high-jacked by this issue. It is a hot issue and I know tempers are raised by it but some of the comments towards other commenters are often quite rude and that doesn't help the debate at all. Would you all be quite as confrontational in a face to face debate, or maybe a little politer...?