How did wildlife manage, before Wildlife trusts bought farms to manage them for nature?

Bigglesworth

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Norfolk
Wildlife managed just fine until farming was industrialised, which it had to, to cope with an increasing urban population demanding food.
The impact this new way of farming had on wildlife was not immediately understood, nor was the fact that the reduction in wildlife habitats also impacted wildlife which pollinated certain crops, aerated some soil types and kept pests under control.
The inability of wildlife to now manage itself is not the fault of the farmer but rather the wider population and the demands it makes of its farmers.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Well, according to all the “wildlife crisis” propaganda, wildlife is in a perilous position currently, so if anything, the proliferation of single interest wildlife charities could be directly correlated to this decline. 🫠
Yes floodings getting worse due to climate change according to wildlife groups and nothing whatsoever to do with the rivers and ditches being blocked through lack of clearance/maintainance work etc.
 

delilah

Member
From The Wildlife Trust website:

Climate change is the second-most significant factor currently affecting wildlife populations in the UK[ii].

Any reduction in UK agricultural output leads to an increase in GHG emissions. Which means that The Wildlife Trust must promote land use that both meets their biodiversity targets and maintains/increases agricultural output. Not saying that it's an easy task, but they do need to recognise the challenge.
 

Pushdyke

Member
Wildlife as the name suggests are wild they don't need managing

Nothing wrong with a bit of feed about in severe weather but rummaging around looking for newts and trapping nice to weigh them is just wrong.

I'd think for humans getting caught up in a terror attacks would be on a similar
Scale as humans handling wild creatures

As for netting and ringing birds what is the point.
 

bluebell

Member
Ffermer Bach, these "people" need to be "educated"? First made to watch the tv programme called "digging for britian" which shows/illustrates well, that most of the UK and europe has been settled, managed controlled, shaped by humans for thousands of years, that includes the "wild life" now if they want to see the "wilderness" they need to look further to other lands and countries, where man has up to now not shaped controlled the land and it s animals, these rapidly shrinking areas are not populated with humans? If you want "wild animals and floria to flourish, and reindroduce "extinct" animals, you have to remove humans? Common sense? tells one, that the reason these animals were hunted.controlled to either extinction or near was humans and there settlements, a recent example is the herds of bison on the great plains of the USA, almost within living memory they were killed,hunted, to almost extinction, why? So as humans, (most from europe) could migrate settle and farm these vast areas? School boy history?
 

bluebell

Member
I should have added that for wildlife/flora to flourish, you not only have to remove humans, but also the "pets" and introduced animals that they took with them to the new worlds? Anyone on here reading this from australia, newzealand care to comment on humans "pets" ie cats, dogs and the effect they have on the indiginous wildlife, of both australia and newzealand and the actions, steps being done to control these "pets"?
 

melted welly

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
DD9.
I should have added that for wildlife/flora to flourish, you not only have to remove humans, but also the "pets" and introduced animals that they took with them to the new worlds? Anyone on here reading this from australia, newzealand care to comment on humans "pets" ie cats, dogs and the effect they have on the indiginous wildlife, of both australia and newzealand and the actions, steps being done to control these "pets"?
Rabbits in Oz and gorse in NZ be 2 non pet introduced species done with intentions of feeding/fencing that later caused issues.
 

penntor

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw devon
A very large farm has just been sold in Cornwall off a guide price of £10,000,000. It has been sold to 'Oxygen Conservation, who own and manage multiple estates across England and Scotland'. 'There mission is to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse by protecting and restoring natural processes'.
Hmmm.
 

Radio

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Radnorshire
Someone will correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t the birds declining in areas actively managed by the RSPB. Did read that bird species at Lake Vyrnwy had declined over the years which is 5000 ha in size run by the RSPB. Locally the Elan Valley Trust has banned fox hunting, where the curlew is desperately surviving Local birdwatcher ,has witnessed a fox carrying off a young curlew , still farmers will probably be blamed for their decline.
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
A very large farm has just been sold in Cornwall off a guide price of £10,000,000. It has been sold to 'Oxygen Conservation, who own and manage multiple estates across England and Scotland'. 'There mission is to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse by protecting and restoring natural processes'.
Hmmm.
What they mean is they are going to milk the taxpayer for every penny they can.
 
Ffermer Bach, these "people" need to be "educated"? First made to watch the tv programme called "digging for britian" which shows/illustrates well, that most of the UK and europe has been settled, managed controlled, shaped by humans for thousands of years, that includes the "wild life" now if they want to see the "wilderness" they need to look further to other lands and countries, where man has up to now not shaped controlled the land and it s animals, these rapidly shrinking areas are not populated with humans? If you want "wild animals and floria to flourish, and reindroduce "extinct" animals, you have to remove humans? Common sense? tells one, that the reason these animals were hunted.controlled to either extinction or near was humans and there settlements, a recent example is the herds of bison on the great plains of the USA, almost within living memory they were killed,hunted, to almost extinction, why? So as humans, (most from europe) could migrate settle and farm these vast areas? School boy history?
I think a few Africans & Asians settled in the US & South America too.
 

Muddyroads

Member
NFFN Member
Location
Exeter, Devon
If we hadn’t actively managed this field and produced a human food crop from it, a host of honey and bumble bees wouldn’t have been able to feed on this land today
IMG_7438.jpeg

Neither would all these aphids be here which will feed an increasing number of ladybirds and small birds.
IMG_7442.jpeg

Add to that the 8 tonnes of human grade kale that grew on this 1.2 acres and the employment it gave to a number of casual staff aged 14 to 72 and I’ll wager that the “public goods” from this plot far outweighs what a rewilded area would produce.
 

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