In 2007 Jules Pretty released The Earth only Endures. It was the first time I had read in any depth, about the mental health benefits of being in Nature. Since 2007 much has been published on this subject - in the medical / scientific press and in popular media. Over the past fortnight I have wondered, at what point does being in Nature, with awareness, knowledge & insight, erode our well being. When feelings of helplessness, anger, frustration and depression weigh-in on you. When does Nature stop curing?
During that fortnight, the World Wildlife Fund and David Attenborough have been communicating that the Human made Sixth Extinction is running like a wildfire. The renowned marine scientist, Heather Koldewey, claimed that we have 10 years to halt the seas from permanently and irreversibly degrading. A single decade, that is all.
So against this backdrop this Tory Government announces that they are going to restart and escalate the Badger cull in England.
I understand the devastation when a farmer learns that their herd of cattle is infected with Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) and has to be destroyed. I grew up in a dairying area of New Zealand where bTB is present. My father had a deep affection for his diary herd, back in the days when they lived long lives. He would have been distraught if they had been destroyed, because of a bTB reactor.
This is a complex issue in England, but one thing that runs through it is poor science and even poorer statistical analysis.
This paper gives a good account of what sits at the heart of the Badger and bTB issue:
A quote from the paper; The ‘elephant in the room’ is a catastrophic lack of basic statistical confidence before informing the public about data. In effect, the public are being willfully misled.
Are Badgers to be grouped with Foxes, Hen Harriers, White Tailed Eagles, Golden Eagles, small Mustelids like Stoats & Corvids to be persecuted without good reason / good science. Why cant we develop processes, which enable us to cohabit with these native species?
I have countless images of the Badgers at UWNR - this family group is now under immediate and critical threat. To lose them would strip away deeply at the fabric of UWNR. I would grieve heavily if they were slaughtered & Nature would certainly uncure.
A recent image:
I am doing what I can (helped by a small team - thank you), to ensure the Badgers at UWNR survive. I have made simple peanut feeding stations and these are positioned at the heart of the reserve. Just maybe abundant, easy to access food will reduce the need for the Badgers to wander and forage on neighbouring cattle farms. I hope…
I was talking with my friend Mike last week about this - he finished our conversation, saying that we are likely to die angry….