environmental commentator
Ever since I took a call from the letters Editor at The Times in March 1999, I’ve fallen into writing about environmental stuff. Usually on topics many might seek to avoid or ignore. OK, let’s dive in. Hedgehogs, horsemeat, sea eagles, badgers, raptors, deer, fungi, little owl, wildfire, invasive species, conifers, ducks, urban foxes, stoats, … Continue reading Dear Sir,
An email, received from a tiny conservation organisation raising all its own funds seeking to conserve curlew, is published here as a guest blog Throughout the year, Curlew Country is contacted for advice by many people wanting to help Curlews. Especially now. Right in the middle of breeding season. We want to help others but … Continue reading Curlew public good
Ben Goldsmith was appointed a non-executive director of DEFRA’s board in March 2018. I asked him about a range of environmental and land issues Interview first published by the RICS RY: What is your role in the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)? BG: As an informal adviser to the secretary of state, … Continue reading An informal Defra adviser
“What makes a freethinker is not his beliefs but the way in which he holds them” Bertrand Russell. If you ask awkward question, voice unsaid thoughts, hang out with diverse company at farming conferences, wish to find common ground between polar views over a beer – be prepared to hold onto your hat. At a … Continue reading Freethought conservation
“Calls for game shooting to push ahead with finding alternatives to lead shot are growing louder, both inside and outside of the sport. Rob Yorke offers a personal view on the subject” My piece, in verbatim, originally published in Shooting Gazette magazine October 2019 – now published with reference links, notes and subtitles. One hundred … Continue reading We need to talk about lead shot
At an African wildlife/conservation/hunting conference, the man from the UN Environment Programme was unequivocal: “if elephants are global ‘public goods’, then developed countries should also pay towards local communities having to ‘manage’ living alongside them”. Pigeon pie Plenty of conservation conflicts, tensions, dynamics make the mainstream media. Two years ago Germany wolves were shot if … Continue reading Up-close to ‘wild’ wildlife
Extraordinary experiences with raptors make for deeper thoughts (refreshed Nov 2022, Jan 2024) I lie in a rowing boat, rod to one side, drifting across the lake in the Welsh mountains listening to brown trout rising. Gazing up, my eyes focus on two spots getting larger by the second…they loom into view, I realise it’s … Continue reading Raptor brutal
