Bad news from DEFRA

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macliam
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Bad news from DEFRA

Post by macliam » Sat Apr 09 2022 3:03pm

There has been a serious outbreak of avian flu in my area which has badly affected some of the large breeders (and this being a rural area, there are many free-range chicken and Gressingham duck farms, as well as many free-range pork producers). The situation has become so bad that chickens have now been closed away so long that they have lost their free-range status. Apart from the 6 distinct outbreaks in commercial premises, a further case has now been identified in a non-commercial setting.- and I have received a letter from DEFRA (the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs) requiring all fowl to be registered (even below the legal limit of 50)... which suggests that there are suspicions that the disease has become endemic.

This is bad news, not only does it mean that my local egg producer will now have to jump through legal hurdles, but it may mean many people giving up altogether. It also puts a big question mark over the commercial production in the area..... and an end to use of land for that purpose. All this comes at a time when building is going on hand over fist to accommodate people fleeing London after Covid, plans for 200 houses here and there, even 2000 on the edge of some major towns, are eating into the green space... So this has the danger of becoming a perfect storm to destroy the rural setting that all these people desire and turn it into yet another dormitory area for London (which is only 2 hours away or less).
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Re: Bad news from DEFRA

Post by blythburgh » Sun Apr 10 2022 7:42am

And worse than using green spaces for housing is the companies offering to buy good quality farm land to plant trees. They are carbon offsetting companies and according to the farmer on Countryfile it was Conifer trees they wanted to plant. Nothing wrong with a conifer in the right place but it is a desert for almost all wildlife whether that be plant, bird or insect.
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Re: Bad news from DEFRA

Post by macliam » Sun Apr 10 2022 9:27am

Better conifers than eucalyptus.... they were planted all over Portugal and support absolutely no life. Walking in a forest and no hearing a bird or anything else is just weird.....

The wood is valuable for paper production and makes a handy profit for the owner for little outlay - but they grow like crazy and, as recent disasters have shown, are a monstrous fire risk. What is less well known, amongst all the greenwashing about carbon capture, is that the production of cellulose or paper from the wood produced actually releases nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide are the main causes of acid rain while CO2 represents the greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. It also stinks..... you can smell the cellulose plant at Cacia from kilometres away.

Supposedly, new plantations of Eucalyptus have been banned..... but not "infills" to replace those cut down. That loophole makes it hard to spot the difference - money makes the world go around......
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Re: Bad news from DEFRA

Post by blythburgh » Mon Apr 11 2022 7:52am

Conifers are as bad as Eucalyptus but for the fire risk really. Go through a conifer wood and you will not hear bird song. You will not see plants growing beneath them.

How much "green" is actually green?

Very hard for Joe Public to know but in the meantime they can polish their halo and say it is alright for us to have holidays abroad as we are offsetting the planes carbon. But at what cost is that carbon offset?
Keep smiling because the light at the end of someone's tunnel may be you, Ron Cheneler

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