Page 110 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #11

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Conservation conlict
Star Misunderstood creatures Mark Carwardine correctly
letter asserts that personalising
I am writing in response to ‘Should I “Well, I hope you killed it”. What was conservation brings in the
Swat a Fly?’ by Helen Pilcher (October the difference between the horse-flies money that is so vital (My
2018). During the hot summer, I swatted and wasp? Nothing really – both are Way of Thinking, September
many horse-flies. They inflicted painful hated and vilified, along with dozens of 2018) and organisations have
bites to me and my horse. Last October, I misunderstood creatures. If they don’t ‘fit’ been capitalising on naming
was stung by a wasp, which had crawled it seems we don’t like them. I have animals for decades. However,
into my nightclothes. When I related noticed over recent years a steady decline conservation is predominantly
the story to friends, their response was: in species we like to loathe, including about resolving conflict, more
crane flies, spiders, flying ants, house generally regarding human

Talking flies, earwigs and herring gulls. I cannot activities. Increasing the cash
point
SHOULD few months ago I did clear plastic pots while I identify them boundary that oscillates wildly depending say what the solution is to this, except flow will boost conservation
a terrible thing I was
on the species context and swelling of
Sometimes a gravid female will lay eggs
the affected body part I don t imagine
and although it may seem ridiculous I feel
tending to my patio
plants barefoot when
who hasn t at some point deliberately
of caterpillars I have raised because their
I disturbed an ants a sense of responsibility Many s the brood there is a BBC Wildlife reader out there
nest under a pot The
mother gave birth in my care
killed a pest of some sort
I SWAT Afeisty invertebrates house it is dutifully caught and relocated onflict like this is unavoidable education. Many years ago, I used to teach but it will not necessarily
If a spider or ladybird is spotted in my
were furious They flung themselves at
(although I continue to beat
my toes sinking their mandibles into my
to the outside world yet I have in the
exposed p nk flesh It hurt A lot As my past flattened flies and massacred myself up about the patio ants)
The word ecology derives from
mosquitoes What double standards are
foot ballooned up red mist clouded my
A FLY? judgement I grabbed the kettle and doused these? I am a hypocrite wrapped in a Cthe Greek word oikos meaning
my attackers with boiling hot water A few
tangled web of contradiction and double
dwelling and our homes and gardens are
seconds later all that remained was a puddle
standards I call myself a wildlife enthusiast
indeed their own little ecosystems These
full of tiny floating bodies but have blood on my hands are created via the interactions that occur a wildlife module at an agricultural college, aid the conflict – instead,
In hindsight I am horrified at my I am not alone however Our attitudes to between the component species
actions I consider myself an animal lover the so called pests we share our spaces with In our human made ecosystems we call
For a wildlife lover it’s and protector of wildlife My pesticide are varied and complex They range from the the shots It s your space to occupy so it s
free garden is full of wildflowers messy
laid back live and let live approach where
up to you to set the rules says scientist
trickydealingwith'pests' corners and insect havens The store where nibbled cabbages are the price paid for happy and gardener Martin Coath of Plymouth including lessons on food chains and the simplifying the argument can
I keep my chicken food is visited regularly wildlife to the vegetable patch vig lantes an University You get to choose what stays
such as wasps, ants and by wood mice Like a scene from Beatr x elite horticulturalist corps that come armed and what goes what l ves and what dies
Some ant species for example can
slugs. Do you live and Potter they climb into the tall bin at night with spray guns and chemical weapons become a genuine problem Their nests
then are too fat and too full to escape In the
There are those who would literally never
let live… or become a morning I simply let them go serenading harm a fly; and those who are prepared to become so engrained and widespread consequences of our actions upon it. I had lead to entrenched views on
them to the tune of Que Sera Sera lynch wasps guilt free because they would and populated that the soil becomes
vegetable patch vigilante? Moths I m kind to as well I have a light have us believe it s either us or them
trap which I put out at night to lure them Like most people I
for a closer look The insects are unharmed am somewhere in the
a proud moment when one of my students both sides, which can lead
By Helen Pilcher and often I carefully transfer them to middle with an ethical
said, “When I left the house this morning, to the exacerbation of the
there was a snail on the path. Usually, I conflict. Short-term gains for
would have trodden on it, but thanks to conservation organisations
your lessons I walked around it!” can lead to long-term pain
Jill Thrower, via email for the species.
Jack Knott, via email
English wildcats
Perseverance pays photography requires plenty of a conservationist, I have seen I was intrigued by the
I have been trying to improve patience, persistence and practice. plenty of projects fail, and very article on reintroducing
my photography with help Happy snapping! often the reason they have failed the wild cat, ‘Should we
from my teacher, who set up a is paradoxically because of too bring back the wildcats of
photography club at school. She Money not enough much money. One of the best Olde England?’ (August
has given me lots of magazines I share Mark Carwardine’s examples is perhaps elephant and 2018). As a conservationist,
to look through to get ideas frustration about the amount tiger conservation: millions have birdwatcher and cat owner, I
and tips on how to improve. of money spent on works been thrown at the problems, am not convinced that England
My mum and dad take me out of art (My Way of Thinking, but the majority of the projects needs more cats. We are already
on weekends so I can capture October 2018). As Mark wrote, have had virtually no long-lasting knee-deep in feral and house
wildlife in different places. human artefacts can and are impact. My experience has been cats that have a marked negative
I took lots of images of red reproducible, whereas natural that relatively small amounts impact on wild bird populations.
squirrels but they were a bit species cannot be. He overlooks of funding, well targeted, with If I could be convinced that
blurry so I tried and tried again. an important issue: money is not long-term sustainability built in we were about to initiate a
This picture (below, right) was the answer to all conservation are far more likely to succeed successful catch-neuter-rehome/
captured at Loch Lomond Bird of problems. In over 50 years as than grandiose mega-projects. I euthanise programme to tackle
Prey Centre, Balloch, Scotland. If agree we need more the feral cat problem, I might
you keep trying you can achieve money, but I also be persuaded.
what you are aiming for. know we need better, John Humphreys, via email
Emily (age 10), via email more sustainable
conservation projects, Human population
Picture editor Tom Gilks replies: with measurable It’s heartening to hear of
Thanks for sharing your lovely and demonstrable conservation successes and
images. It’s always great to hear outcomes. feel all is not lost (Cloud Nine,
from young wildlife photographers. John Burton, August 2018). But we must
As you’ve demonstrated, wildlife A ten-year-old reader CEO World Land Trust not ignore the root cause of
snapped this golden eagle
at a bird of prey centre.
110 BBC Wildlife November 2018