Dan Kinney article in 'Farming Life' - an abundance of ignorance

OpenYourEyes

So I came across an article that was written with reference to Hen Harriers and designated lands on Ireland. Unfortunately like most things flagged by the Raptor Persecution Scotland Blog, it is an article filled with inaccuracies, bias and sheeer stupidity that serves only in spreading ignorance and making constructive discussion and comprimise more difficult between conservationists and land-owners.

The article is available here: http://www.farminglife.com/news/farming-news/at-last-some-common-sense-about-vicious-killers-1-6484464
And you can see RPS's take on it here: http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/vicious-killers/
and BAWC's take on it here:https://www.facebook.com/BAWCUK/posts/316643605208593

It has annoyed me so much that I've felt the need to pick it apart here - hopefully some people might read it, and if any similar nonsense comes up in the future they'll be better equipped to respond. Apologies that it's a long post, but please give it (or bits of it) a read and feel free to reply - discussion and debate is always welcomed!

At last I see some green shoot of common sense about hen harriers, that most vicious of raptors which........... 30 odd years ago, I watched as a female hen harrier came down and attacked a cock peregrine falcon which seemed to be in difficulties among rushes. Both birds flew away as I approached them.

First of all there is no "most vicious of raptors" - each does what it has to survive, no more and no less - they get in, get their prey/food and get out as quickly as possible. What the author describes above is a Hen Harrier scaring away a Peregrine - probably because the Harrier had chicks nearby, or possibly just because it was scared of the Peregrine predating itself. Hen Harriers aren't built to catch or kill anything close to a Peregrine - they occupy two completely different parts of the sky, and the Harrier is not built for speed like the Peregrine is. Harriers are built to catch Meadow Pipits and other small birds - thats it! Peregrines are much better placed to predate harriers however, and though it's not thought to be a common occurrence, it has been documented.

So, thirty years ago the author saw a Hen Harrier scare away a Peregrine, and since he doesn't like Hen Harriers he has decided that that was proof of them being "vicious" in some way, as opposed to say a good parent or simply being smart enough to stay alive!

Committee Chairman Andrew Doyle TD said: ...........
“With EU agriculture policy increasingly recognising the public good, the Committee is concerned that farmers with these lands are being unduly penalised by policies to protect species such as the hen harrier.

This is a complete misnomer - protection of species like the Hen Harrier, that not only have intrinsic value but are also a useful indicator for habitat quality and ecosystem function, is one of the things the EU is talking about when it says agricultural policy should increasingly reflect the public good! Unfortunately the public good is often fought tooth and nail by big and small lobby groups, not to mention by our own Dept of Agriculture, often at the cost of taxpayers money either directly or indirectly. If recognition of the public good is increasing, it's doing so at a snails pace!

Also, something in the region of €200million was given to the Irish government by the EU, for the purpose of compensating landowners with protected lands - a tiny fraction of that was given to landowners, the bulk of it was used for something else....we don't actually know what, the Dept of Agriculture hasn't said, but that €200million would have gone a long way to helping farmers manage the land in a sustainable and ecological friendly way that is in the public interests. Alas, we end up with articles like this instead!

Those great friends of the hen harrier in the RSPB have been working to great effect to save raptors and predators, red in tooth and claw and it is time decent people, particularly those who live and work in the countryside, had their views realistically considered.

Again, trying to present Harriers/Raptors as 'evil' in some way - not the case, obviously. Then trying to present them as the enemy of "decent people" - again not the case, but it's all about spin and propaganda! Of course people who live and work in the countryside should have their views considered - conservation organisations strive towards this, but the kind of rubbish in this article and from various farming lobby groups makes it very difficult to do so. What the author really means here is that him and his friends should get their way.

Among those who never believed that the RSPB, or raptors like hen harriers, were whiter than white is Charles Moor..... dealt an extremely serious blow to the RSPB.......
If we are right then the do-gooders are doing more harm than good.......................Charles ended his article with the warning: “This Christmas you might feel like saving a hen harrier. If so, don’t buy your family a gift subscription to the RSPB.”

The author the goes on to discuss a recent attack on the RSPB, where it was claimed they aren't spending their money well - look at their track record, they're doing an excellent job! And I can provide links for anyone who might wonder otherwise. The attack in the UK was politically motivated, as a distraction and counter-attack for the RSPB and other charities increasing concern at the dwindling Hen Harrier population there due to illegal persecution. Like this article, that attack was all about propaganda and muddying the waters, presenting facts in such a way that they seemed bad despite not being so. That attack has largely died down, and the RSPB has continued to do the fine job it has done for decades.

In Monday’s Daily Telegraph Angus Jacobsen from Inverbervie, Angus wrote: “The decline in many avian species (Charles Moore, Comment, December 13) – a matter of concern to me a farmer – is due to the buzzard being ‘top bird’ in most areas of the United Kingdom.

“When resident buzzards find their traditional food source is absent they prey on other bird species, whose populations suffer. To allow these species to recolonise their habitats some culling by shooting, of buzzards is required.

Depending on who you talk to, and what raptor they think they should be allowed kill, you will hear that the decline of any/all bird species is down to a) Buzzards, b) Sparrowhawks, c) Peregrines or d) a combination of 2 or more of the above. None of it is true. The reasons all of our farmland birds and waders, for instance, are declining is because of habitat loss - draining land, getting rid of hedgerows, monocultures of crops, autumn-sowing of crops, planting forestry etc etc. Numerous tests and studies have been done to see what impact, if any, birds of prey were having on various species, and the answer is that they have very little impact at al and no impact at population level - so if all of the raptors were gone from Ireland tomorrow, we would not have millions more songbirds and waders than we do this year, we'd have pretty much the exact same amount. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant at best. And Buzzards have large wings so that they can soar in the air - looking out for roadkill, carrion or maybe a rat or rabbit - those same large wings make it very very difficult for them to actually catch any bird that has smaller wings because of the difference in speed and agility between the two. A Buzzard couldn't catch a Blue Tit or a Yellowhammer or Goldnen Plover if it wanted to! Don't forget all of our native birds evolved together for thousands of years here - it was only in the 1800's and 1900's that we got rid of a lot of our raptors. Its humans that are causing declines in our bird species, it's not other birds.

“If only countrymen (in the truest sense of that word) were permitted to control many species of birds and mammals and thus create a desirable balance of nature, the countryside would be a more interesting and ecologically more sustainable environment for all to enjoy.”

Countrymen in the truest sense of the word - simultaneously a rallying call to people he feels are like him and so should agree with him, and aclaim of superiority over 'outsiders'.

Desirable balnce of nature? Pretty much everything is in freefall at the moment, nothing balanced about it. And how does he define desirable anyway?

The countryside would be a more interesting place? Surely its diversity that adds to it being interest, that same diversity that he's obviously very much against. It certainly wouldn't be sustainable - ecological complexity and stable ecosystems capable of carrying out their ecosystem services are the only sustainable way about it, because they simply get on with their job without any inputs from us. With changing weather patterns assocaited with climate change we need lands that can hold water to prevent flooding in the winter, and hold or slowly release water in the summer when there has been no rain - and thats just one example.

The authors views on desirability, sustainability and even science all revolve around him getting what he wants - rather than consider all of the evidence he has chosen his viewpoint and worked backwards from there, picking and choosing information he feels he can use to his advantage - known as 'confirmation bias'. I find it extremely worrying that in 2014 anyone could hold such ignorant and uninformed views.

Capercaille

http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/hen-harrier-regulations-have-left-land-almost-worthless-claim-farmers-30733511.html
The venom towards the Hen Harrier is reaching fever pitch at the moment. Everybody is pushing to have designations lifted: IFA, Government TD's, MEP's, anti-wildlife TD like Michael Fitzmaurice and Luke Minger. The new farming organisation: Irish Farmers with Designated Land (IFDL) seems particularly against the Hen Harrier. The missing 200 million that was earmarked for designated for the Natura 2000 sites, that has gone "missing" is a huge problem.

The environmentalist groups in Ireland have limited/no influence over the Coveney and I fear that designations will be lifted. Already in the SAC's for the Hen Harrier the areas are planted heavily with non-native conifers, without the designations there will be a huge increase in forestry. In The Hen Harrier SAC's Farmers planting their land with forestry (mostly pure ****) with limited/zero value for biodiversity have no cap on payments, but if you farm in an environmentally positive way in the SPA/SAC/Natura 2000 sites you get a cap on your payments.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I just dispair. Every time you think we are scraping our way forward something like this throws us back decades.

magicbastarder

it's that last pullquote in the OP which in a way i find the most arrogant - that nature is incapable of reaching a 'desirable' balance without man's interference. you can argue over the definition of 'desirable' till the cows come home, but he claims only man can bring nature to an 'ecologically sustainable' state?

next week, dan kinney sets out to prove that black is white.