Science and Conservation

Saturday 22 nd September 2018. A date that I hope (and think) will go down in UK conservation history as the day that the tide in the war against wildlife turned. The day when the people of the UK stood up and raised their voices for those species who can’t raise theirs. A day of passionate speeches filled with hope. A day of birdsong, beautiful costumes and rain. The Peoples Walk for Wildlife 2018. When we arrived in Hyde Park at 10:45am, it was to find a good-sized crowd already turned out. Chatting excitedly, visiting stalls set up by some of our major conservation agencies and listening to young people describe what wildlife means to them on a couple of big screens. However, that crowd was absolutely nothing compared to the number of people gathered by the time the walk headed off at 1pm. The police (who deserve a mention for how well they organised the walk) estimated that 10,000 people took to the streets. A staggering number, particularly given the heavy (sometimes very he

Owls are undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and popular groups of species we have in the UK.   From the diminutive little owl, through the ghostly barn owl to the twit-twooing tawny owl, all regularly feature near the top of the list of people’s favourite species. The barn owl came 2 nd in the 2015 poll to find the nation’s national bird ( https://www.votenationalbird.com/ ), behind the robin, which, if we’re honest, was never going to loose. And the collective noun for a group of owls is surely one of the best: a parliament of owls. Tawny owl There’s 6 owl species that can be found wild within the UK: tawny owl, barn owl, little owl, short eared owl, long eared owl and eagle owl. Tawny owls are synonymous with the night and are commonly used in TV shows to symbolize nighttime. When a dark sky and a bright moon might not be enough, adding the hooting of a tawny owl, maybe coupled with the barking of a fox, makes sure viewers know its late and potentially spooky. The in

Next Saturday, 22 nd September, will see the first Peoples Walk for Wildlife. This event starting in Hyde Park, London, will bring people together from across the UK to voice a very simple message: we want wildlife. Wildlife in the UK is in real trouble and its up to all of us to speak up for those species that can’t speak up for themselves. The more people who attend, the louder this voice will be. So what’s the walk about? Its not just about the scores of hen harriers, golden eagles and short eared owls that are illegally killed on Britain’s grouse moors each year. Its not just about the thousands of badgers that are being killed in a cull that is not just scientifically questionable, but acts against scientific evidence. Its not just about the foxes that are still being killed by dogs in fox hunts in the UK, despite the Hunting Act coming into effect over a decade ago. Its not just about the 97% decline we’ve seen in our hedgehog populat