Country Matters
By The Hodge
“A sparrow in the hand is worth
more than a flying goose”
Traditional
It is interesting to
see how matters evolve over time as organisations change. I’m thinking here of
charities closely associated with, (but not exclusively so), the countryside
such as the RSPCA and the RSPB. Decades ago, they were simply animal and bird welfare associations whose work revolved
around improving the care of our fellow creatures.
After the Second World
War, there was not the same level of awareness and care for the mental health
of returning servicemen or indeed those civilians who had been traumatised by
the effects of bombing etc. as we see today. The 1950s I recall was a period
when animal cruelty was fairly commonplace and I have always attributed the
many instances I witnessed with such people taking out their mental trauma on
the animals that came into their ‘domain’. I well remember the handlers at
livestock markets regularly hitting or beating animals during loading and
unloading and the same occurred at abattoirs. The regular stockmen were a
different breed but these poor souls were accepting whatever base employment
was available and taking out their frustrations and difficulties on the
livestock in their care. Dogs were beaten and allowed to roam in packs and
unwanted kittens were placed in a sack and held in a water butt until they
drowned. Gradually, much through the efforts of the RSPCA, things improved,
albeit slowly.
Today, whenever a
report tells us that a bird species is declining in numbers, as many do, the
RSPB always seems to respond with a stock statement blaming ‘modern farming
practices’ and the media accepts this without question. Yet modern farming is
much more geared towards animal and bird conservation than ever before and the
agricultural industry does a huge amount – whether willingly or not – to make
the environment better whilst keeping track on a rapidly growing world
population which is better fed today than ever before. Thus many of the
insecticides and pesticides commonly used in earlier decades have rightly been
banned and most of those remaining are fairly innocuous by comparison. Round-Up
is a mere shadow of DDT yet it too is now being banned. Various government and
EU initiatives target subsidies on agriculture by improving the conditions for
wildlife with larger field margins, wild areas, more hedges and the growing of
marginal crops to help overwintering wild birds.
Yes, some species
numbers do decline but is the glib response that it is the fault of farming
always fair? I walk quite a lot along roadsides and it amazes me how many
little bundles of feathers can be seen where small songbirds have met their
match against the hard metal or glass of a lorry or van or car. Indeed, the
evidence of squashed pheasants, hedgehogs and badgers is there for all to see
but no one seems to ever blame ‘road kill’. It’s accepted as a necessary
expense for us all to get where we want when we want. Farmers do indeed drive
but I think any survey would find that they are a tiny minority on our roads so
why do the RSPB blindly just keep blaming them? And who should take the credit
for those species that show an increase in numbers?
Our garden is a
feeding spot for dozens of goldfinches and collared doves, both of which were
as rare as hens’ teeth only a few years’ ago. Often I see and hear a buzzard
overhead yet spent much of my earlier life never having seen one in the wild at
all. Doubtless the RSPB might claim that such improvements are all down to them
but surely it is at least partially down to the agricultural industry as well?
The RSPCA is today a
much more political animal and has been censured in parliament for some of its
activities. It is much more supportive of ‘animal rights’ rather than animal
welfare. Is the reason for this that they see much of their traditional role
disappearing as matters improve?
No comments:
Post a Comment