Bison to be reintroduced to Kent woodland

[JP1]

I think you are going to be disappointed. The pandemic is costing the public purse big time and will continue to do so. Most hill farms from what I have read are nonviable without subsidies. We already know there are planned cuts to subsidies and the current situation is likely to accelerate this trend, so the great hill farming tradition will probably disintegrate further and be replaced by wilderness. Sorry

Any way don't knock it, taking land out of production is going to give you a bigger market share of what is left.

Just like so much, there's more to it of course. Hill farming along with other rural enterprises keeps people on the land, villages viable, etc etc .

Like the whole business of "supermarket spec" for cattle and thus villifying good native bred cattle, I always think "who says"

 

[matthew]

Some states in the EU are ahead of us in his one.
Re wilded wolves in parts of Germany are now causing havoc amonst the local sheep flocks, and can be seen roaming agricultural land and alonside the autobahns, within just few miles of major cities.

Beavers have widened rivers to the extreme, by burrowing into treelined banks, killing the trees due to water logged roots, and instead of a 'river' there is now a mile wide swamp.

Brought up on a diet of Wind in the Willows, as these bison will very soon multiply, the general public are very much at risk.

As @Blaithin says, in Canada and the US, TB is a problem within the species, and supplementary feeding which encourages bison, elk and white tailed deer out of the forests, for human gratification, is banned. Numbers are also controlled.

What starts off as a 'breeding pair, and a vanity project, very quickly becomes a pest.

 

[Christoph1945]

Some states in the EU are ahead of us in his one.


What starts off as a 'breeding pair, and a vanity project, very quickly becomes a pest.

Sounds a bit like the Adam & Eve story; even big G got it wrong then?

 

[egbert]

I think you are going to be disappointed. The pandemic is costing the public purse big time and will continue to do so. Most hill farms from what I have read are nonviable without subsidies. We already know there are planned cuts to subsidies and the current situation is likely to accelerate this trend, so the great hill farming tradition will probably disintegrate further and be replaced by wilderness. Sorry

Any way don't knock it, taking land out of production is going to give you a bigger market share of what is left.

Don't confuse 'non viable' , with 'the current model is non viable'.
Without subs, my cow numbers, and the inbye sheep, would crash - as would direct employment and farm 'spend'.
My hill ewes meanwhile would increase, and enjoy more of the inbye.
They ARE viable, counting my time, return on investment, every last farthing, they return a couple of quid each annually.

(and to save you asking how I'd live on less than thousands, the answer is that I'd expand my non-farm operations, and ranch the hill ewes accordingly.)

Monbiot may not intend to tell lies, but that doesn't mean everything he says is actually factual.

 

[caveman]

THE BREED

Sussex Cattle Society The Breed

www.sussexcattlesociety.org.uk

Says it all really.

Won't be long untill some smart arse decides its a good idea to slip a lim bull in with the bison cows to introduce a bit of back end conformation.

 

[primmiemoo]

There is nothing about that Kent project that cannot be achieved with native cattle and horses.

It's saddening to see younger people so blinkered that they want to disneyfy chunks of Britain. There will be some who will wonder when the raccoons are coming back!

 

[Exfarmer]

In the same era as bison roaming the UK we also had lions here, why no campaign to bring those back?

 

[arcobob]

In the same era as bison roaming the UK we also had lions here, why no campaign to bring those back?

More double yellow lions perhaps. ?

 

[Dry Rot]

Is this the return of Fallowfield? I really do miss him. He was a source of endless fun!

 

[egbert]

Some states in the EU are ahead of us in his one.
Re wilded wolves in parts of Germany are now causing havoc amonst the local sheep flocks, and can be seen roaming agricultural land and alonside the autobahns, within just few miles of major cities.

Beavers have widened rivers to the extreme, by burrowing into treelined banks, killing the trees due to water logged roots, and instead of a 'river' there is now a mile wide swamp.

Brought up on a diet of Wind in the Willows, as these bison will very soon multiply, the general public are very much at risk.

As @Blaithin says, in Canada and the US, TB is a problem within the species, and supplementary feeding which encourages bison, elk and white tailed deer out of the forests, for human gratification, is banned. Numbers are also controlled.

What starts off as a 'breeding pair, and a vanity project, very quickly becomes a pest.

View attachment 894033View attachment 894034View attachment 894035

just been looking at photos and video from a pal in the south Tyrol, of a heifer walking about with her guts half out.

 

[delilah]

Arrived this week. They are going to lock up carbon and solve the climate crisis, apparently. Clearly got different guts from a cow.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canter...-as-bison-released-into-kent-woodland-270348/

 

[PostHarvest]

DEFRA is paying farmers to plant trees to "improve the environment". The Kent Wildlife trust claim that these Bison are "Improving the environment" by knocking over trees and destroying them. They can't both be right And who is responsible for maintaining the fences to prevent these undomesticated animals causing havoc in the most heavily populated area in the UK? Have the Kent Wildlife Trust any practical experience with stock proof fences? Madness - total madness

 

[Dry Rot]

From the distant recesses of my memories of college several decades ago, I seem to remember the case of Rylands v Fletcher. Briefly, the principle this established was that "the person who for his own purposes brings on his lands and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, must keep it in at his peril, and, if he does not do so, is prima facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape". Has this been superseded by a more recent case? I don't think it's possible to insure against something that is inevitable, so why is this even being discussed? As above. Madness - total madness.

 

[Steevo]

From the distant recesses of my memories of college several decades ago, I seem to remember the case of Rylands v Fletcher. Briefly, the principle this established was that "the person who for his own purposes brings on his lands and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, must keep it in at his peril, and, if he does not do so, is prima facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape". Has this been superseded by a more recent case? I don't think it's possible to insure against something that is inevitable, so why is this even being discussed? As above. Madness - total madness.

Totally. He who owns the animal is responsible for fencing it in.


But.......government bodies/civil service/quangos etc. are a total law unto themselves and even when totally and utterly in the wrong.....they are always legally in the right.

 

[delilah]

Have the Kent Wildlife Trust any practical experience with stock proof fences?

tbf yes they do.

On the 'saving the planet' stuff:
Wildwood and KWT are saying that the bison will be of benefit with regards climate change.
The NFU and AHDB are saying that cows cause 5% of GHG emissions.
You have to ask, who is failing their members ?

 

[topground]

The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 requires those keeping Bison to hold a licence. A tad more dangerous than domestic cattle. They could have achieved the same effect using Longhorn cattle for forestry management as I understand happens in Epping Forest. They will need a bit more than a few gates and some baler twine for their Tb testing handling system.

Make enquiries about the licensing position with the local authority within whose area the Bison are kept. An annual licence requiring Veterinary input.

 

[Huno]

A Kent Wildlife Trust initiative. One male, three female European Bison

Going to be fenced in but meeting one of these would hurry up your dog walk.

View attachment 893541

European bison to be introduced into Kent woodland

The European mammals will restore a rich habitat for local wildlife, conservationists say.

www.bbc.com

Bison were introduced to Dorset and Wiltshire by a Heereditary Peer about 25 yrs ago... they are perfectly harmless cattle

 

[Huno]

I wonder if that Peer of the House of Lords wants to lead a review of non native species being introduced to the UK?? A quick google search should bring up a chap called Colin Ellis..Bison...
Not sure of his title

 

[arcobob]

Bison were introduced to Dorset and Wiltshire by a Heereditary Peer about 25 yrs ago... they are perfectly harmless cattle

Are they ruminants, thus producing methane? It is said that the population of Bison on the great plains of North America before man`s big migration west roughly equates to the current population of domesticated beef herds. Bison meat is very good but badly distributed on the animal compared with modern beef. Clearly it is not only bison that have woolly heads.

 

[Nearly]

So bison were once native to UK so can be once again.
Anyone heard of a film called Jurassic Pork about reintroduced prehistoric wild boar?
It doesn't end well!