Think the Labour MP needs to pick a better bird to be "threatened" by cormrants - heron populations have been recorded for about 100 years and are on the INCREASE not decrease! Maybe they are threatening their precious fish stocks too? It shows he has no clue what he is talking about and is just wanting to keep his angling pals happy. They'll be wanting to cull kingfishers next!
(BTO link to Heron population trends - www.bto.org/.../results )
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I am NOT advocating a cull
I know nowt :)
MY Gallery here
Martin Harper (Director of Conservation for the RSPB) has a very well worded article on this at
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/martinharper/archive/2012/02/22/newsflash-cormorants-eat-fish.aspx
In the interests of balance it must be said that for thousands of years Man has tried to control Nature and has changed this planet forever. Many mistakes have been made along the way and no doubt many more will be made in the future. However , we cannot allow Nature to have free rein. To do so would mean us all going back to living in caves and living off the land like our primitive ancestors. Disease is part of Nature too , are we to stop trying to eradicate disease because it is natural ? We made this mess and we have to do what we believe is best to manage it in future. I just hope those entrusted with making those decisions do better than they have in the past.
No axe to grind either way but wild fish are being taken in large numbers by large increase in Cormorant numbers,a bird that until the 1980s was exclusively a coast bird.
Wild fish have a right like all other creatures to a life and if that is threatened by a population explosion of another species we probably have to take action.
This is not about anglers it is about fish.
Before deciding if I am in favour or against culling , be it Cormorants , Geese or Badgers , I want to see facts from both sides based on scientific research not emotional sentimentality. In the case of badgers I'm not yet sufficiently convinced it's the best option. I want more facts about cormorants , but as far as Canada Geese are concerned the facts and the evidence of my own eyes tells me something has to be done and culling seems the only viable option.
I can hear those against , in five years time screaming "Why wasn't something done sooner ?"
yeah yeah lable it a pest and then you can shoot it!
Come up with some rational arguments backed up with scientific fact and I'll listen. Don't just try to shout down anyone who doesn't blindly conform to your opinion.