March Nature News

Hello and welcome to this month's Nature News where I round up wildlife and environment stories from the local area and across the UK.

Local Wildlife Crime

Until 1998 there was mink farm here in Ringwood, just up the road from where I live. Animal rights activists attacked the farm and allowed thousands of american mink to be released into the countryside. I am totally against fur farming but the activists made a huge mistake. Many of the mink were killed to protect pets and livestock and I dread to think of the effect some 6,000 mink had on the local wildlife population. The farm is not far from the New Forest where there are many ground-nesting birds whose numbers are in decline- for mink the eggs make easy prey.

The story re-entered the new this week as it has emerged that the activist group had been infiltrated by the Metropolitan Police(1) . They knew about the raid and actually allowed it to happen as they saw it as preventing more serious crime in the longer term. No charges have ever been made for the raid and Hampshire Constabulary didn't even know about the undercover officer until 2014! The actions of the activists is bad enough in itself but the police knowing it was going to happen and allowing it is inexcusable.

More recently, local property developer and millionaire Christopher Wilson was convicted of damaging the breeding sites of two species of bats while building a block of luxury flats in Ferndown(2). The licensing procedure was ignored meaning money was saved and the property could be developed more quickly. I total he had to pay just under £5,000 which doesn't seem very much for a millionaire- the amount he saved is not specified but it could conceivably still be less than the total fine. Either way it's not a great incentive for property developers to follow licensing procedures if the penalty is so slight.

Government Environment Policy

The government has been positive on environment policy recently with many promises in the twenty-five year plan. Environment secretary Michael Gove even suggested recently that plastic straws could be banned(3).

Since then however, things have taken a turn for the worse. The mooted "latte levy", a 25p surcharge on disposable coffee cups has been questioned by the government(4). I've read the news story over and over trying to understand their reasoning and all I pick out is this:

"it is better for shops to offer voluntary discounts to customers bringing their own cups."

How is that better? Why rely on shops to be proactive rather than make it law and really make a difference?

Then there's the badger cull, a policy the government is insistent on as a way to curb bovine TB despite limited evidence it is effective and the damage it's doing to the badger population. Nine new areas have come forward to be considered for culling licences, including Hampshire(5)- there is little reason to think they won't be granted. In 2017 around 20,000 badgers were culled in England. The estimated badger population for England and Wales is 485,000(6). If these licenses are granted and a similar amount are killed in these nine new areas as well as the current eight areas that would be around 40,000 badgers culled a year. The culls are supposed to happen for five years. It's insane that this is being allowed to happen.

Finally, for now at least, the government have responded to a petition to license driven grouse shooting(7). It's a statement full of waffle which you can read in full in the link but basically they say they are not going to even consider this approach and are going to carry on as normal. Normal means that birds of prey are illegally killed on the uplands to protect the grouse shooting industry with few prosecutions. These birds of prey include hen harriers who are on the verge of extinction in the UK.

I'm disturbed by the fact that the government's actions are not reflecting the promises they have made. They say they are committed to support the environment yet their actions point the opposite direction.

New Species of Fungi
I've learnt a lot about fungi over the last few years but identifying them can still be really tricky. There is very little visual evidence to distinguish some species from each other. Botanists at Kew Gardens have been studying the big blue pinkgill (Entoloma bloxamii) and through morphological and DNA studies have concluded it's actually at least four species (Entoloma atromadidum, E. bloxamii, E. madidum and E. ochreoprunuloides)(8). DNA sequencing is revolutionizing studies of the natural world and it seems there are many more species than we previously thought.

Microplastics
I've been discussing microplastics a lot recently and new studies are showing just how widespread they are. Microplastics are microscopic pieces of plastic that are toxic and gradually build up along the food chain.

I think we are all aware of the problem of microplastics in the oceans but it turns out they are building up in our rivers too. Scientists from the University of Manchester analysed 40 sites throughout Greater Manchester and found microplastics at all sites(9). Urban waterways were the worst affected. This may have been a fairly small study but there's nothing to suggest it wouldn't be the case throughout the rest of the country- virtually every river runs through an urban area at some point.

There was also a sizeable study on microplastics in bottled water which is alarming(10). Analysis of 259 bottles from 19 locations in nine countries across eleven different brands found an average of 325 plastic particles for every litre of water being sold. Only 17 bottles were plastic free. It's a relatively small amount but that's just an average with some being considerably higher and over years this could build up in your body. The World Health Organisation have launched a review on the risks of this but it seems likely it will be causing harm.

An Easter Idea
With Easter on the horizon I thought I'd end with a product you might consider for your loved one this Easter. A chocolatier called Mirrie Dancers are selling chocolate curlew eggs which not only look amazing but around £1.50 of the sale price goes to the RSPB's curlew recovery program!

You can buy the eggs online here.

That's all for this month but there will be more nature news in April and I'll be back with a new post next weekend.

1: BBC: Ringwood mink fur farm raid sanctioned by police

2: Bournemouth Echo: Millionaire property developer damaged breeding sites...

3: BBC: Plastic straws could be banned, suggests Michael Gove
4: BBC: Ministers question 'latte levy' on cups
5: BBC: Nine areas of England apply to join badger cull
6: Farmers Weekly: Badger population rises to 485,000 in England and Wales
7: UK Government and Parliament Petitions: License driven grouse shooting
8: Discover Wildlife: Big blue surprise
9: BBC: Microplastics are 'littering' riverbeds
10: The Guardian: WHO launches health review after microplastics found in 90% of bottled water