Step right up and #SaveOurBuzzards

At the time that I wrote my blog on pheasants, here, little did I know that within a few, short days the touch paper would be lit on a DEFRA scandal of epic proportions. The poor old beleaguered pheasants have been well and truly caught in no-mans land. Shot by one side and not even wanted by the other.

I do not have a problem with pheasants as individuals, I love to watch their daily soap opera in my back garden and on my local patch. However, I am worried about the damage that millions of released pheasants may be causing to our countryside and woodland. We have to remember that pheasants are not native to this country and require careful management. Natures balance can be easily upset. Just look at what has happened to the red squirrels.

That is why management of buzzards to protect pheasants cannot be allowed to happen. The buzzard, or any other native raptor for that matter, must not become the 'fall-guy' for the appeasement of the shooting fraternity. Rather they should be looked upon as an integral part of non-native species management. Research in the USA has shown that a healthy raptor population can in fact be part of the solution to upsurges in the pheasant population and the increased ecological damage that this can cause. Let us not forget that a percentage of the released birds make it through to the feral population each season. They are breeding and they are becoming more numerous. I see it every summer in my own back garden.

The good news is that in this age of 'super fast technological wonders' we can all do something about this issue. We can sign e-petitions here and here. We can 'step up for nature' with the RSPB here. We can harness the power of Twitter and Facebook to contact our MP and make our voices heard. We can go 'once more into the breach' with this man here. But most importantly together we can #SaveOurBuzzards. It all depends on if you want to.

I want to, do you?

#SaveOurBuzzards - Update

I spent most of yesterday trying to help #SaveOurBuzzards. Here is what I achieved and found out:

• The initial DEFRA project tender can be found here
• Research by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, that seems to refute game-keepers claims, can be found here
• DEFRA respond with this news post
• A blog post by Mark Avery can be found here. Some very interesting comments
• I urge you to sign the e-petition that can be found here
• I sent a tweet to my MP, James Gray, asking for him to pass on my displeasure to DEFRA. To my surprise he tweeted back within an hour stating that he would write to DEFRA on my behalf. Needless to say I was very impressed with this. I urge you to do the same
• The campaign has been given the twitter tag #SaveOurBuzzards. This is an attempt to get the campaign trending and reach more people.
• I have started a petition on the HM Government e-petition website, however it still has to be checked and is not yet live. Other people may well have done this also

More to follow as and when necessary. Thanks.

The DEFRA Buzzard Scandal

Emergency blog post here regarding the DEFRA pilot scheme to protect pheasants by culling buzzards.

Now I won't go into all the details here as the majority will already know about it, but please read this blog post by Myky as it is very eloquently written and contains all the necessary links and information. To Myky, I hope you don't mind my blatant piggy-backing of your post, but I found it to be excellently written.

My main gripe with this issue is that this scheme is being introduced based purely on the 'say-so' of the gamekeepers. No scientific research has been implemented; no data has been compiled; no analysis can be carried out. Effectively buzzards will be culled because of myth, rumour, and the lure of money.  I am very unhappy and angry about this whole situation and I cannot, and will not, accept it. I urge all of you to get involved  as far as you are able. An email or letter to DEFRA could make all the difference.

I'll keep you updated on this issue as it progresses. Thank you.