There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.Government warned against conservation cuts
THE Government will receive a stark warning from conservationists as countryside campaigners urge Ministers not to cut spending on on conservation, wildlife-friendly farming and public recreation.
Wildlife and Countryside Link will deliver the message to MPs at a parliamentary reception tonight to mark the group’s 30th anniversary.
Paul de Zylva, Chair of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “We all know the new Government will have a hard job making difficult and far-reaching decisions about where the axe should fall on public spending.
“There may be a temptation to see cuts in conservation and recreation as an easy win, but in reality ministers need to think very hard before making cuts that could have profound and perhaps irreversible consequences for England’s wildlife, landscapes and people.
“We want to make clear that in the case of conservation, slashing budgets would be a false economy – short term savings would translate into huge long term costs for our economy and our national well-being.”
The group warned funding cuts to protect key projects such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) has left the country’s best wildlife sites ‘sadly degraded’.
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Readers' comments (1)
Trimbush | 14 July 2010 6:14 pm
Over £50 M (£50,000,000) of public money was wasted last year on the Badger TB issue in Labour’s continued irresponsible (albeit successful) attempts to put off the culling of sick tuberculous badgers.
If nothing is done soon by the Coalition – even more than £50 M will again be wasted this year – monies that could used elsewhere!
The Conservation Sector must inevitably (and no doubt will) take a big hit with ‘austerity cuts’ and the point about ‘conservation going backwards’ is well made.
However if I were a DEFRA Minister (for instance) I would ensure that - before even 1p was given to excellent conservation charities such as the RSPB and Woodland Trust – they were on board and in agreement with developing and implementing integrated holistic, environmentally-sensitive, commercial, cost-effective farming / wildlife policies and strategies – and until they were they would get nothing!
Thus under the current circumstance the RSPB would sadly not get even 1p until it recognised that the reservoir of TB in the badger population needs addressing. This compliance requirement would thus lose some 25% or so of RSPB's income (for the foreseeable future but at least for 4 years) if it refused to accept Government policy and continued to campaign against Government policy - as it is now doing!
I am at a loss to understand why badger enthusiasts continue to be content to see their favourite and beloved wildlife mammal suffer so much and to celebrate the fact that any further delay in culling sick badgers makes the situation far worse and tomorrow’s task of cleansing the UK badger population so much more difficult to achieve.
I shall continue to argue that allocating monies to the 're-balancing' of ‘farming’ comes wholly before any conservation grant whatsoever.
Not a penny more!
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