Environment Archives - Page 15 of 42

City Deer Cull Policy: A Tailored Response

Aberdeen City, Environment, Featured, Opinion 5 Responses »

Aug 152014

In mid-July Suzanne Kelly wrote to all the City councillors and the new Chief Executive. This was following Evening Express revelations that according to a Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) count, there may be only nineteen deer left in the entire city, with only three or four left on Tullos Hill. Tullos had a deer population which was stable for decades, until the Liberal Democrats foisted a ‘tree for every citizen’ scheme on the city, and the deer’s days were numbered as the City Council refused even to consider alternatives to shooting.

In response to Kelly’s email, the City Council created a document which it sent to all councillors, but not to Kelly. Kelly has obtained this missive, and in this article seeks to dismiss its points.

We may be in danger of losing all of our city deer.

This will be due in no small part to the recent drive to cull dozens of them at a time, on the pretexts that ‘they have no natural predators’ and that for reasons best known to scheme proponents Councillor Aileen Malone and ranger Ian Talboys, we need to ‘plant a tree’ for every citizen.

Having written to all the councillors, a few did respond with sympathetic views, advising that they were against the cull, and that they knew of the 3,000-plus citizens and the community councils which had asked for the tree scheme and the cull to be scrapped. However, many councillors never got back in touch.

Many people have since forwarded an email sent by the City Council’s media division. The media department chose to write to the councillors and the Chief Executive rebutting my email. They left me out of the correspondence.

Perhaps they knew that most of their points could readily be countered. This article is a response to the City Council’s justifications for how it treats its deer population and the low regard in which it clearly holds its voters.

Here is the gist of what the City Council tried to claim, and what I would like to say to the councillors and the City Council by way of rebuttal, a courtesy they decided not to extend to me. There go my hopes for a new Chief Executive who would be open, accountable and transparent in her dealings.

Thanks to the many people who sent me the City Council’s claims which I will deal with point by point.

The City Council claims there are errors and inaccuracies in an Evening Express article of 19th July. The City Council claims the article did not report the real story regarding the roe deer population.

An interesting introduction; but the City Council fails to discount the article in this opening paragraph, or to say specifically what those inaccuracies are. They are going to address these ‘inaccuracies’ with the Evening Express. How very odd then, to remember an Evening Express article of a few years back. This story advised that ‘two deer were found dead ahead of the planned cull’.

Well, that was true: the deer had died of unknown causes TWO YEARS before the cull. Someone in the City Council contacted the Evening Express and encouraged this story. The City Council had no interest in correcting that little inaccuracy.

The City Council addresses the claim that Tullos Hill is “under threat from deer extinction”, and says this is not true. They say the survey was undertaken by SNH in January 2014 at only four of the city’s new woodland sites, out of 39 woodland sites. The sites looked at were Tullos Hill, Seaton, Danestone and Greenferns.

The SNH want to have only four to six animals on the whole of Tullos Hill, to fit in with their recent guidelines.

Perhaps the deer were hiding from the infrared sensors

These are for guidance and not legally binding, although you would not know that as the City Council repeats the mantra over and over again that deer must be ‘managed’ (ie shot).

The ranger Ian Talboys wrote an email in response to 16 deer limbs being found in a ‘suspected’ poaching incident on Tullos. More on that later. If he ever did express a desire to protect the remaining animals, find the culprits or find a means to discourage wildlife crime, he doesn’t seem to have put it into writing: a Freedom of Information (FOI) request disclosed all relevant correspondence.

Talboys says that he believed the deer must have been shot elsewhere, a rather wild claim some might think, as he thought there were fewer deer than that on Tullos:

“I would be surprised if there were enough deer in the area for anyone to be able to take four in one go so it may be the remains have been taken from somewhere else and dumped on Tullos Hill”

Perhaps it’s just as well that Talboys is not a criminologist. But the bottom line is, how can four to six deer, even if migrating between sites, have a healthy, stable gene pool and survive poaching? At such numbers exactly how will we continue to have deer on the hill?

The City Council’s media personnel then go on to offer conjecture, not fact, as to why the count may have been low. The count was aided by the contribution from Ian Burnett of Aberdeen City Council.

Perhaps the deer were hiding from the infrared sensors is one idea they offer. It is interesting how the City Council flits from conjecture to fact when it suits its purposes. What I asked for was a halt to any further culling, until at the very least another count was done to establish the numbers.

The apologists go on to explain in great detail how hard it is for the SNH to get accurate numbers for counting deer: temperature, other animals, weather, all sorts of reasons are given for why counts are inaccurate.

No one in the City Council seemed to have any concerns about inaccurate counting of deer when it put out its ‘Granite City Forest Tree for Every Citizen Programme – Tullos Hill Community Woodland’ document (BRN 165321 Case No 4158709).

It stated categorically that in 2011, 29 deer were counted on the hill. I will put up my hand and admit that at present I can’t find my source for the count of 70 deer in the area. However, if I am inaccurate with numbers, then I have company in the City Council’s paid professionals; only my counting doesn’t form the basis for shooting them.

Fact: the above-referenced report says that in February 2011 there were “seven bucks, ten does, six juveniles and six unclassified animals” (Page 67). The targets set (same page) were the destruction of eight bucks, nine does and seven juveniles in 2012/13 in the first killing, i.e. 24 of the 29 would be killed.

The great scheme was then to destroy four more creatures each season until 2016/17.

one of the complainants coincidentally writes to Aileen Malone with great frequency

No mention seems to appear in this 69-page report, in my opinion a highly biased apology for deer killing, that it’s hard to count the animals, or that there could be a doubt over the number of animals on the hill.

As above, councillors were told there were 29 animals on Tullos in February 2011. The hunter(s) paid to do the shooting that first season killed either 34 or 35 animals: the records are so poorly written that not even the City Council’s FOI request managed to find a figure.

So there you have it: 29 deer counted, of which 24 were going to be destroyed, and 34 or 35 were in fact killed. And now we are told it’s hard to count them.

The City Council’s cull apologist goes on to say that The Housing and Environment directorate continues to receive reports of, and complaints about large deer populations and the damage they cause across Aberdeen.

In response to my FOI request I was sent complaints about deer.

Oddly enough, one of the complainants coincidentally writes to Aileen Malone with great frequency, about deer in the Cults area which apparently go into the complainant’s garden. There would also seem to be one other complainer. These people must be amazed that they have moved to a countryside area and found countryside animals on private property.

ACC officers monitor the new woodland sites for field signs of the roe deer and evidence of deer browsing on the young and established trees, to establish the likely population of deer in the area and any impact they are having on the sites. The management of these sites ensures that there is a balance between habitats and species through weed control, scrub management, deer management, woodland management operations etc.

The public stated resoundingly that it did not want Tullos to become a woodland site. As it has gone ahead, the City Council has demonstrably left the weeds unchecked while killing the deer. The Forestry Commission clearly stated that the previous failure was related to weeds as well as alleged deer browsing.

The City Council has done nothing to rectify the poor soil matrix on Tullos. The report on the failure of phase 1 states that trees are likely to topple in the wind (wind toss) because of the poor soil matrix. The fact that debris are visible throughout the tree planting area demonstrates this fact. It is probably an insoluble problem, making Tullos an unlikely area for a forest.

The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 and the Code of Practice on Deer Management place a duty on anyone with deer on their land to manage them at sustainable level, whereby the population density is not causing significant damage to property, crops, woodlands, protected areas or creating welfare issues for the deer themselves through lack of food or habitat to rest up in, or causing safety issues for people.

It is voluntary code of practice we are talking about, and a contentious one at that. The above-referenced report says about the code:

“although not mandatory, [the code] incorporates the legal framework for deer management… The Code supports the voluntary approach…”

The City Council really should stop maintaining that it is following the law, it is following a code. It’s funny, there seems no such zeal to follow codes on our air pollution levels, still failing to meet EU permissible levels for particulates for years and years. There is no such zeal when allowing class sizes to exceed government guidelines.

And yet, the deer cull guidelines are presented to councillors as if they are mandatory legal requirements which must be obeyed.

At Tullos the deer posed no threat of property damage. There were no crops, there was no woodland, only a meadow. There were no deer welfare issues, there were no safety issue for people. Any evidence to the contrary has not yet been presented to the public and a chance to scrutinise any that exists would be welcome.

In the absence of any evidence, and having proved that the Code of Practice is not binding law, and did not apply as there were no crops, no starving deer, etc. at Tullos, this is meaningless jargon and a general statement not relevant to the specifics of the low level of deer now left in the city and the small number on Tullos.

But now the City Council plays a trump card: it gets into deer vehicle collisions. The City Council says that in 2013/14

“the Aberdeen City Council Cleansing Teams collected 30 roe deer carcasses from the city’s road network that had been hit by vehicles and died at the roadside. …which will have caused damage to vehicles, distress to drivers and their passengers as well as suffering to the deer.”

There does not seem to be a single sign erected in the city to warn of deer crossing. And yet the City Council is aware of all of these crashes without taking any mitigating action – except to advocate deer shooting. I have campaigned for signs to be erected, as are used in many other areas.

The City Council’s response? They claim people don’t pay attention to signs.

As logic goes, this is quite a fail. If the City Council is aware of risks to Health and Safety, and decides not to use fencing, deer deterrents (there are devices which emit noises which repel deer) or to warn motorists of hazards, then that’s rather a damning indictment of how it handles public safety and how little the protection of animals, and thereby our biodiversity, means to them.

The media pros then get around to my statement that the trees are not thriving.

“In ACC’s professional opinion the trees are doing well. The site has been inspected by Forestry Commission Scotland as a part of the grant conditions and they are content with the growth of the trees”.

I suppose a layman’s photograph of tiny tree saplings planted amid rubbish, overshadowed by huge quantities of healthy weeds is a professional’s version of doing well.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

For some reason, no documentation from the City Council or Forestry Commission painting a glowing portrait of a thriving plantation was included with the FOI documents sent to me.

Since we wasted £43,800 of taxpayer money trying to plant trees on Tullos before, which were beset by weeds, no doubt the City Council asked the Forestry Commission for a comfort letter, agreeing that the trees are just fine and we’re in no danger of repeating our past failure.

I have noted that Glasgow at one point refused to cull its deer for this voluntary code. With a grandiose sweep of the pen, the person attempting to shoot down my arguments tells the councillors

“It is not Aberdeen City Council’s place to comment on Glasgow City Council deer management policies.”

It might not be necessary to comment on Glasgow, but it is rather useful to note that other Scottish authorities are treating the deer-culling guidelines as guidelines, and not legal requirements.

Finally, we get to the reports sent in to me about deer poaching. The City Council has gone on in most of its correspondence and reports to explain that deer need to be shot ‘because they have no natural predators’. .

“Given the number of deer legs found it is highly unlikely that they were taken from this site as they would have come from more deer than were known to be in the area at the time. This is the advice provided by Grampian Police Wildlife Crime Officers following their investigations. In respect of the poaching, there is no proof that the deer legs found on Tullos Hill were from deer taken on Tullos Hill or the surrounding area.”

Well, we might not have wolves in the hills, but we certainly have poachers.

An article on the scale of poaching and the money involved was in The Observer on 10th August, page 9. But the City Council has reverted to wild conjecture. Talboys had written in an email that he doubted anyone could find four deer to poach on Tullos: his theory, and the theory being put to councillors here is that the deer were poached elsewhere.

Let’s imagine the scene. Deer poachers hunt, trap and kill four deer. The poachers decide what to do next: they take the deer carcasses, all four of them, put them in their vehicle, drive somewhere close to Tullos and park. They then carry the dead deer to a spot on Tullos hill, all the while risking detection.

Then they cut the deer up, take the meat, and hide the legs and guts in a bush. Or, having cut the deer up already, apparently to ensure the meat doesn’t get contaminated, they then carry the legs and innards in their car to a parking area close to the hill, grab the sixteen legs and the internal organs, walk along the hill and hide the remains in the bushes.

I wonder what Inspector Morse would say.

We will have to wonder what Police Scotland’s Wildlife Crime Officer has to say as well. There has not been a single press release about deer poaching in our area.

So, dear councillors and readers, if you have made it this far into my comments on the City Council’s attempt to trash my arguments, thanks to those who continue to oppose this senseless slaughter. Thanks to those who have sent me the City Council’s rebuttal when it failed to do so. Would you do me three favours?

The first is to halt any deer culling until we have a better grasp of how many, or how few deer we have.

The second? Protect motorists and deer: let’s just see if putting up signs might help. You might want to ask yourself how thirty deer–related accidents stack up to the drink-related, speed-related fatalities on our roads, and how many hit-and-runs we have.

Thirdly, would someone like to please find out whether ranger Ian Talboys, who is such a staunch supporter of shooting the animals, gets any money or expenses for his role in the deer-culling lobbying entity, the “Lowland Deer Management Group?” This would be rather interesting to know.

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Conservation Group Calls To Limit Salmon Exploitation

Environment, Featured, Opinion 1 Response »

Aug 152014

Salmon amidst gore, killed in a coastal net.

By Andrew Graham-Stewart.

The Salmon and Trout Association (Scotland) is appealing to Scottish Ministers to encourage maximum restraint in any exploitation of salmon in the next few months.

The appeal is in response to this year’s very poor runs of salmon, which so far in 2014 are believed by many to be the worst in living
memory.

The evidence for this is from angling catches, in-river netting catches and fish counters across most of Scotland.

Thus the provisional number of fish recorded at the counter on the River North Esk (Scotland’s most closely monitored river) to the end of July is just two-thirds of the five year average. The poor runs in 2014 follow very sparse runs in 2013.

Hugh Campbell Adamson, Chairman of S&TA(S), commented:

“The very limited numbers of salmon returning to our shores reflect poor marine survival for the second year running. On many rivers, angling catches to date are no more than 50 % of what one would normally expect.

“In the circumstances it is vital that as many as possible of those salmon that have successfully returned from the ocean are able to spawn successfully, and so anglers have a responsibility to release as many as possible of the fish they catch”

Mr Campbell Adamson added:

“Given the gravity of the situation Scottish Ministers need to intervene immediately to stop any further killing of salmon this season by the coastal nets. In recent weeks salmon returning to the coast after their marine migrations have, because of the low water levels in most rivers, been either reluctant to or unable to enter their rivers of origin.

“Due to these summer conditions depleted stocks have meandered up and down the coast where they have been highly vulnerable to the coastal nets. These nets have been able to kill an entirely disproportionate number. The Government’s support for the netting industry, and its failure to regulate or limit catches, is now coming home to roost.

“Ministers have a clear duty to step in to prevent any further indiscriminate killing of our depleted and fragile stocks”

The number of salmon killed in nets in 2013 was 50% higher than in 2012 – according to the official Scottish Government figures. There are no quotas set for wild salmon and consequently there is no mechanism to limit catches by netsmen – whatever the strength or weakness of local populations.

Ian Gordon, leading salmon consultant and gillie, said:

“It is fundamentally inequitable that Scotland’s coastal netting stations, which employ no more than 50, mainly part-time, individuals, are permitted to kill as many salmon as they are able to, before the fish reach our rivers. Wild salmon are a dwindling resource and the over-riding priority must now be to protect the 2,000 plus jobs of gillies and others on our rivers that depend upon a thriving angling industry to be viable.

“Angling, with the great majority of salmon caught released safely back into the river, is essentially sustainable but, if our rivers do not hold sufficient salmon stocks, anglers will simply vote with their feet – thus jeopardising in-river employment and the economies of local communities. In these circumstances Scotland can simply no longer afford to allow unrestricted coastal netting.”

More information:

The Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA) was established in 1903 to address the damage done to our rivers by the polluting effects of the Industrial Revolution. For 111 years, the S&TA has worked to protect fisheries, fish stocks and the wider aquatic environment on behalf of game angling and fisheries.

S&TA has charitable status in both England and Scotland. S&TA’s charitable objectives empower it to address all issues affecting fish and the aquatic environment, supported by strong scientific evidence from its scientific network. Its charitable status enable it to take the widest possible remit in protecting salmonid fish stocks, and the aquatic environment upon which they depend.

Mixed stocks coastal netting stations indiscriminately catch any salmon passing by, regardless of where they are heading or the strength of the various populations in their home rivers. They are completely non-selective, making the management of individual river stocks almost impossible.

The Scottish Government’s 2001 Green Paper on Freshwater Fish and Fisheries stated that:

“the exploitation of salmon outside their river of origin is widely accepted as contrary to good salmon management, primarily on the grounds that it does not discriminate between separate river populations and therefore severely inhibits monitoring and optimum management of exploitation of stocks on a catchment basis.”

In addition, 17 rivers in Scotland are designated as Special Areas of Conservation, part of the Natura 2000 network – a series of internationally important wildlife sites throughout the European Union. The random nature of mixed stock fisheries makes it extremely difficult to determine the impact of such fisheries on these important conservation sites.

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In Conversation With USAN’s George Pullar

Environment, Featured, Opinion 16 Responses »

Aug 062014

A recent Aberdeen Voice piece looked at salmon fishing issues and Montrose-based USAN. Seals were shot in Gardenstown, confrontations occurred between Sea Shepherd, hunt saboteurs and USAN, who operate salmon nets in the Crovie area. Animal welfare organisations condemned USAN’s activities.

USAN’s George Pullar invited Suzanne Kelly out on the boat to experience first-hand a typical day on the water taking salmon. Pullar wanted to explain his operations and his difficulties; this is the story of how the day unfolded. By Suzanne Kelly.

George Pullar of USAN. Credit: Suzanne Kelly

It is a pleasant afternoon when George Pullar collects me from the Montrose train station for my visit. Montrose station by the way is adjacent to wildlife habitat, the Montrose Basin.

This is a highly valued local nature reserve where fishing and wildfowling are permitted leisure activities.

I am admittedly the sort of person who only wants to shoot wildlife with a camera. I wonder what sort of day I’m in store for.

We arrive at the USAN operations south of Montrose. A floating net is currently hung up on the grounds of the Pullar property; the cage is, I am struck by its huge size.

USAN operates in a number of areas around the east coast of Scotland; USAN advise they purchased fishing rights as private heritable titles on a willing buyer/willing seller basis, as with all the rights they own, and are keen to point out they have not operated nets in the Ythan Estuary area and state that they have not shot any seals. However, anglers concerned about salmon stocks and animal welfare groups are concerned about seals in the area, and George has told me that if a seal persistently steals from any of his nets, he wants to have it shot. The local anglers, who have contributed towards maintaining salmon stocks, are ‘dismayed’ at the news of USAN operating in the area.

USAN was also granted a licence to shoot some 100 seals; after public outcry, the company was widely quoted in the press as saying it will not take seals. But George Pullar is adamant seals which interfere with the nets will be shot.

The Scottish Government via Marine Scotland issues licences for killing grey and common seals to the farms and the netting fisheries. Their 2013 figures brag that ‘only’ “105 seals have been shot across 216 individual fish farms and 169 seals across over 40 river fisheries and netting stations during the third year.” and that “licensees are only shooting seals as a last resort.”

Pullar and I get onto the subject of hunting in general; there are a few nice looking dogs on the property. Pullar is not interested in shooting deer or rabbits for fun or sport; he says his shooting is confined to protecting his nets and his fish from seals.

Arrival at USAN. Credit: Suzanne Kelly

We walk down a path to the bothy, where we are joined by others including George’s son. Everyone puts on protective gear and a life vest, and we go aboard the motorised boat. Eight large fish packing boxes are aboard, empty. They will soon almost all be filled with salmon, large and small.

The motorboat goes to the netting areas past ‘Elephant Rock’ a local landmark. We pass George’s cliff top house.

He tells me that hunt saboteurs, wearing balaclavas have not only been monitoring USAN’s activities on the water, but have also been watching his house. Unsurprisingly, the police are monitoring the hunt saboteurs, and George tells me that anti-terrorism police are also involved and are interested. Pullar is concerned for his family and his business.

We arrive at the first net, a floating cage. The fish go into the wide opening, and the further in they go, the more trapped they become.

The crew grab one side of the net from the side of the boat; they begin to haul their catch. Then each man grabs a small wooden club. Suddenly the bottom of the boat is filled with salmon, struggling for oxygen. They are terrified, they are gasping; they flap helplessly. Small fish, large fish, all are clubbed to death on the head as swiftly as the crew can manage.

We repeat this process some 14 times more; I’ve lost count.

My first impulse is to put the salmon back in the water and save them; this is of course impossible and whether or not I am there, the fish will be killed. The small ones look particularly helpless to me; the large ones are nothing short of majestic. But I must report that the killing of these animals is accomplished quickly.

I think of the many ways fish and meats are produced; I think of the farmed salmon.

If animals are to go into the food chain, it is better that they have a free, natural life and a swift end to my way of thinking.

George agrees with me readily as to the treatment meted out to farm animals; if I’ve understood him correctly he has seen a chicken processing plant in operation.
I want to discuss his relatively swift despatching of the previously wild salmon as opposed to how caged salmon live.

Farmed salmon are kept in relatively small pens, where in the wild they would have covered wide open sea and river areas. Farmed fish are fed a cocktail of drugs; they are prone to sea lice, which cause great pain as they eat the farmed salmon’s flesh, often to the bone. And there is powerful evidence that the areas under these cages become barren; I spoke to a diver who equated the area under a salmon cage he’d seen with the Empty Quarter desert.

George asks me if I eat fish; I say no. He asks if I eat any meat; I say I’m vegetarian. I do say though that from what I know and what I’ve seen of meat production, I cannot really argue with the speed in which the salmon are killed on his boat.

After they are killed, they are tagged as wild Scottish salmon with a tag carrying the USAN logo.

The number of fish in each net varies. Some have only 2-3 fish. Some have dead salmon and a fair number of jellyfish. I only see a few types of other fish in the nets; a mackerel, and Pullar points out some herring. He tells me in effect there are plenty of fish in the sea.

That may be so, but there are some serious concerns being expressed about the number of wild salmon to be found in the rivers. The anglers also support local businesses and bring money into rural economies. The anglers of late are hardly catching a thing. Pullar today has taken at least 50 salmon, and while this number can vary greatly, he says they clear the cages twice a day.

Some reports state that total salmon catch figure decreased from 500,000 in 1975, to 100,000 in 2000. Today, anglers in Scotland’s rivers are hardly getting any salmon at all. Andrew Graham-Stewart, Director of the Salmon and Trout Association (Scotland) said:

“This is a very bad year for salmon. Numbers returning to the coast from their marine migrations appear to be well down. Very few are entering their rivers of origin. This situation is exacerbated by the dry weather. Given the lack of flow in the rivers fish tend to wait in coastal waters where they are highly vulnerable to coastal nets – such as those operated by USAN.”

USAN’s nets south of Montrose are a classic “mixed stocks fishery” – taking fish destined for many rivers between the Tay and the Spey. Radio tracking by Marine Scotland of fish caught south of Montrose shows conclusively that some are destined for the Dee.

Some of the salmon catch in one box. Credit: Suzanne Kelly

USAN is answerable to The Esk District Fishery Board for its operations. There are conflicts in legislation – ‘leaders’ are meant to be removed from the floating nets at specific times – but the rules take no account as to prevailing weather conditions. USAN has fallen foul of these laws, and is seeking to change them.

I haven’t seen a seal all day; and on previous boat trips down the coast, I have almost always seen some.

I wonder why there are none at all in such an area as George’s nets are. I ask him about seals.

“If a seal only comes to the nets once, it’s not a problem. But if the same seal comes back, then (it will be shot). These are my fish (the ones in his nets)”

George also seeks to assure me that the police were happy with his having guns and how they were stored in Gardenstown and Crovie. This was an issue touched on in a previous article.

I know that Marc Ellington, who owns the lands in Gardenstown and Crovie has formally forbidden USAN to shoot from his lands. As I understand, it is illegal to shoot from a boat (for rather obvious reasons; the water is hardly a stable place from which to aim).

Pullar tells me that his company is working with developers to improve devices which use sound to repel seals (he says not all seals are susceptible to the noise such devices emit). He points out to me the steel bars he has installed on some of his floating cages to prevent seal access to the salmon, and netting in use on other cages to prevent seal access as well.

George feels that the press is ignoring efforts he is making with the university and developers to keep seals out of the nets and therefore out of the equation which is one of the main objections people have to USAN’s operations – the shooting of seals.

It is clear to me that if USAN were to market itself as a company that took wild salmon without ever harming any other wildlife – it would be pleasing clients and people concerned with the environment. Even if the company took fewer fish as a result, it seems clear to me people who care about wildlife (even if they eat salmon) would be willing to pay more for a product that didn’t involve shooting other creatures.

Last year a seal was shot in Gardenstown in front of two newly-arrived tourists who had rented a cottage.

They promptly packed and left. The police’s investigation into the shooting – which took place without the landowner’s permission – fizzled out.

A salmon netted, clubbed and tagged for sale. Credit: Suzanne Kelly

USAN makes no secret of the fact they will shoot the animals if they interfere with the nets.

USAN made a statement to government which sets out its arguments – theirs is a heritable business in a sector which they see as being persecuted by angling interests.

In the document USAN discusses the Close season and the fact anglers get a longer period in which to fish. USAN employs some 14 people, and support the local economy.

But when USAN states:

“It is reprehensible for us to have to survive on reduced fishing time, where there is no threat to salmon stocks.”

– it is clear that this conflict is about more than seals; it is also about conflicting opinions on how much salmon stock should be taken, and what the future holds for the wild salmon population.

It’s A Living Thing.

Pullar wants to provide for his family and to pass his business on, just as his father has done. We talk about what I do for a living (I’m a secretary when I’m not writing for Aberdeen Voice, by the way, as well as a painter and craftsperson, and a few other things). My skills are transferable; I’m also always trying to learn new skills.

I wonder perhaps if the Pullar business model could benefit from some diversification – adding wildlife tours, education, etc. to the business model.

The world is rapidly changing; in Aberdeen the talk often turns to what will happen when oil runs out. It is entirely possible that the salmon population is dwindling – overfishing (arguably), pollution, climate change are driving changes which can’t be beneficial for any wildlife. Pullar could always find other ways to work; he doesn’t want to and by law he doesn’t have to.

I think of the seals. They have to eat what they find – there is no choice for them. Do we really have to take as many fish as we do Experts advise that many dead seals are found not to have salmon in their stomachs when examined. But if the definition of ‘vermin’ is one species going after the food needed by another species – are the seals the vermin – or are we?

On our way back to the Pullar bothy, three hunt saboteurs are sitting on the shoreline. They wear balaclavas and are filming us. The boat goes closer; George is filiming them; they film George and I am filming them both. It is a sureal moment and soon we are back to the Pullar property.

We return to shore; the boxes which had filled up with fish are put on a forklift, and taken to the bothy’s packing plant. On my way back to George’s car, I meet his father. Three generations of the Pullar family are engaged in the business.

My Closing Thoughts.

I leave with a bit more insight into USAN’s operations and its issues, and with some hope that a way will be found to stop shooting any seals.

Salmon amid the jellyfish. Fishing with USAN. Credit: Suzanne Kelly

It’s clear to me they aren’t the only ones shooting seals. Once again I find myself wondering if the Scottish Government and its environmental bodies SNH and Marine Scotland are more interested in money and politics than in the state of Scotland’s ecology and the biodiversity of the future.

I think that if I were a hunt sab, or animal rights activist, Pullar would be of less interest to me than the people involved in industrial farming on land and on sea and the institutionalised cruelties entailed.

I question the tactic of hanging around someone’s house wearing a balaclava; the hunt sabs didn’t make very many friends in Gardenstown either; they were asked to leave.

Intimidation is a tool, but working together to find solutions in a less confrontational manner should be preferred. Pullar says he’s working on ways to keep the seals away from the nets; I will follow his progress and encourage it.

I also leave with renewed determination to remain a vegetarian, and may perhaps go vegan.

But mostly, I’m thinking of the seals, deer, geese and the habitats that are being destroyed before my eyes since I moved to Scotland. That for me is the bigger picture, and until someone in power decides that money is less important than halting urban sprawl and encouraging biodiversity in deed rather than in words, I believe we are all heading for trouble.

Do not watch the following video if seeing fish being clubbed will upset you. Do not assume that is meant to show up USAN’s killing. It will show everyone who likes their smoked salmon exactly where it comes from. I recommend watching it while bearing in mind what is going on to get the low-cost chicken, lamb, pork and beef onto your table, which would be far more upsetting to watch.

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MSP To Speak At Hiroshima Memorial Event

Aberdeen City, Environment 2 Responses »

Jul 312014

With thanks to Gavin Mowat, Constituency Assistant to Christian Allard MSP.

North East MSP Christian Allard will be speaking at a Hiroshima Memorial Event in Aberdeen on Wednesday 6 August to mark the moment an American bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima City, Japan in 1945.

Mr Allard will be joining speakers from a variety of political, community and faith groups to commemorate the catastrophic event and to warn against the renewal of the UK’s own weapons of mass destruction.

200 peace lanterns will be released on the River Dee to commemorate the 200,000 men, women and children who died.

SNP MSP Christian Allard is a member of the international group Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and a member of Aberdeen and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

The Hiroshima Memorial Event is on Wednesday 6th August starts at 8.30pm and takes place at the Fisherman’s hut down by the River Dee in Aberdeen – all are welcome to attend.

Mr Allard commented:

“As ever the Hiroshima Memorial held in Aberdeen will be a timely reminder of the senseless devastation that is caused by weapons of mass distraction.

“With this memorial ceremony we will remember the 200,000 who died when bombs were dropped first on Hiroshima and then on Nagasaki . It is also an opportunity to remind people that weapons such as those used in Japan have no place in here modern Scotland.

“With a Yes vote in September we can be sure that Scotland gets rid of these obscene weapons and our country can set an example to others around the world.”

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North East MSP Christian Allard with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s sign that outlines the two futures for Scotland.

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial Day – Wed 6th August 2014

Aberdeen City, Environment, Featured 2 Responses »

Jul 312014

With Thanks to Jonathan Russell and Aberdeen CND.

Wednesday 6th August sees the 69th anniversary of the first ever explosion of a nuclear weapon when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was followed on the 9th August by the detonation of a further nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki

Aberdeen and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) have organised an event to mark the occasion and remind people of the potential horror of the use of nuclear weapons.

200 peace lanterns will be released onto the river Dee to commemorate the 200,000 men, women and children who died following the nuclear explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many more died later from injuries or prematurely from the horrendous health effects that followed.

We are delighted to have Yu Aoki who lives and works in Aberdeen but who was born in Hiroshima as one of our speakers. Yu Aoki has said:

“I grew up listening to the stories of my grandparents and other atomic bomb survivors about their experiences of the 6th August 1945. Most survivors have passed away by now and I feel that people from the younger generation like myself have to pass on the stories to the next generation so that we learn from the history and never repeat it again.”

We will have songs from local singers Dave Davies and Simon Gall as well as poems by the local poet and peace activist, Hilda Meers, which will be read by Tommy Campbell from Unite the Union.

We also have a wide variety of Speakers from Civic, Faith and Community Action Groups. These include Christian Allard MSP, local Councillor Barney Crockett, Iman Ibrahim from the Aberdeen Mosque and Islamic Centre, Clive Potter from the Quakers, Doug Haywood from the Radical Independence Campaign, Brian Carrol a representative from Aberdeen trade union Council and Jill Austin from Aberdeen Against Austerity

The memorial event which is open to all the public to attend will take place on Wednesday 6th August at 8.30pm by the side of the River Dee at the Fisherman’s hut off Riverside Drive (between the Bridge of Dee and Duthie Park – see map below)

Jonathan Russell, Chair of Aberdeen and District CND, stated “For most of us nuclear weapons have been a part of the world we live in for all of our lives.

“We can as such often put into the back of our minds just how horrific these weapons would be if used. The Independence Referendum has highlighted the fact that the UK’s nuclear weapons are based in Scotland and the United Kingdom Government are intent on building a new generation of Atomic weapons at a cost of £20 billion.

“As a result of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and the New START treaty of December 2010 nearly 50% of these monstrous weapons have been destroyed. There are still however 19,500 Nuclear Weapons in the world – enough to destroy our world several times over. Building new atomic weapons makes the likelihood of getting rid of the remaining weapons less likely.”

For further information please contact Jonathan Russell, Chair of Aberdeen and District CND,
Tel 01224- 586435,
Mob 0758-245-6233
E-mail jhamiltonrussell@hotmail.co.uk

Date: Wednesday 6th August 2014, at 8.30pm
Venue: the Fisherman’s Hut on the River Dee
(by Riverside drive )

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Scotland’s First Full Humpback Whale Post Mortem

Environment, Featured, News No Responses »

Jul 042014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Scotland’s first full post mortem of a humpback whale – found dead at Fishnish on the Isle of Mull last Wednesday – has been carried out by veterinary pathologists with the assistance of conservation charity Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.

The seven-metre, eight-ton animal – believed to be the first humpback whale ever to strand on Mull – was discovered floating close to shore on Wednesday 25 June, and was craned out of the sea the following evening. The male calf had not recently been feeding and was probably still dependent on its mother.

Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust’s Science and Strandings Officer Dr Conor Ryan, who is an expert on humpback whales, assisted with a post mortem examination with veterinary pathologist Andrew Brownlow of Scottish Rural University College to establish the cause of death.

Preliminary results from the examination were consistent with drowning, although the cause is unclear.

“This highly unusual and sad discovery is a reminder that Scotland’s west coast waters are extremely special and host a great variety of marine species, including magnificent and iconic humpback whales – and that conservation action and research are vital for the protection of such remarkable animals,” said Dr Ryan.

Humpback whales today face a range of threats including collisions with vessels, entanglement in fishing gear, pollution and reduction in stocks of their prey.

People are encouraged to report sightings and strandings of whales, dolphins, porpoises – collectively known as cetaceans – to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust via www.hwdt.org or on 01688 302620.

The charity’s Community Sightings Network works with residents and seafarers across the Hebrides to map cetacean distribution off Scotland’s west coast as part of its work to ensure the long-term survival of cetaceans and basking sharks through improved knowledge and understanding.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are rarely encountered in the Hebrides but are known to migrate through the region far from shore when travelling between their tropical breeding grounds and Arctic feeding grounds.

They were hunted in the Hebrides in the early 1900s, but only 19 were caught during 20 years of hunting – suggesting they had been over-exploited by whalers elsewhere to the north and south of Scotland.

Although sightings are still very rare in UK waters, this species is being observed with increasing regularity in Irish waters.

Named after the distinctive hump in front of their small dorsal fin, humpback whales are known for their acrobatic aerial breaching and for complex and beautiful songs performed by males during courtship.

Adults can range in length from 12-16 metres and weigh up to 36 tons.

Humpback whales are widely distributed throughout all the world’s oceans and are highly migratory, travelling thousands of miles from warm-water breeding grounds in the tropics to cold-water feeding grounds in the polar regions.

The species has an estimated global population of 60,000 individuals and is increasingly popular with whale-watching trips worldwide.

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New Forest Legacy To Commonwealth Games

Environment, News No Responses »

Jun 102014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

A new Commonwealth Forest near Loch Ness has been established as a lasting and green legacy to this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, in an initiative being launched by conservation charity Trees for Life during Legacy Week (9-13 June).

Trees for Life has planted 6,500 trees in the new forest at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston – one for every athlete competing in the Games, with Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Moray MSP Richard Lochhead planting the 6,500th tree.

The award-winning charity aims to expand the new forest with the support of spectators who attend the Commonwealth Games. Donors from across the Commonwealth will be asked to plant a tree to support their national team, and track which nation is doing the most to support the Commonwealth Forest.

The project will boost the international profile of Scotland’s spectacular landscapes and wildlife, and also allow visitors to the Games to reduce the impact of their carbon footprint.

The initiative received a ringing endorsement from the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Moray MSP Richard Lochhead, who praised efforts to expand the ancient Caledonian Forest in the Highlands.

Richard Lochhead MSP said:

“The Caledonian Forest offers visitors some of our most majestic landscapes. I would encourage visitors who are coming to the Commonwealth Games to go further north and explore these woodlands and many other parts of Scotland’s stunning natural environment.

“It is excellent news that this project is helping to expand these woodlands and importantly creating a lasting legacy from the Games that generations of people will enjoy.”

Trees for Life’s Executive Director, Alan Watson Featherstone, said:

“The Commonwealth Games are a huge opportunity for the whole of Scotland. The Commonwealth Forest initiative will stand tall over the Highland landscape for centuries to come, providing a vital habitat for many endangered species of native wildlife. This will be a wonderful legacy to leave in the wake of Scotland’s year of sport.

“During the Games, many thousands of visitors will be travelling to Scotland. Whether by air, rail, or car, this will have a hugely significant carbon impact. We want to offer Games-goers from across the world the chance to mitigate the impact of their carbon emissions, by contributing to a unique and lasting green Games legacy in the wild heart of the Scottish Highlands.

“It takes just a few seconds to donate, and from £5 per tree this is a cheap, easy way to help make these a truly green Commonwealth Games.”

With less than 50 days to go before Glasgow 2014, Legacy Week is celebrating initiatives that will deliver lasting benefits from Scotland’s hosting of the Games. The ambition is to promote Scotland as a frontrunner in delivering nationwide benefits from hosting a major sporting event.

People can donate to the Commonwealth Forest by visiting treesforlife.org.uk/CoFo or texting COFO14 £5 to 70070. One tree costs £5.

Games-goers will be encouraged to use Trees for life’s online ‘carbon calculator’ to work out how many trees to plant to mitigate their carbon impact.

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Whale Week Festival Spotlights Important Marine Life

Environment, Featured, News No Responses »

Jun 062014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

A new annual week-long festival boosting the profile of The Hebrides as an internationally-important hotspot for whale spotting and conservation action will be launched on World Oceans Day on 8 June, in what is believed to be the first event of its kind in Scotland.

Humpback whales, orcas and bottlenose dolphins will take over Tobermory on the Isle of Mull between 8-15 June 2014, as conservation charity Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) celebrates its 20th anniversary with its first Whale Week.

A wide range of activities and events will increase knowledge and understanding of Scotland’s spectacular whales, dolphins and porpoises – known as cetaceans – and The Hebrides’ globally important marine environment.

HWDT hopes that the local community, schools and tourists will be inspired to help ensure the long-term survival of these remarkable marine creatures, which are facing increasing stress from human activities including climate change, habitat degradation, pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, and underwater noise.

So far 24 cetacean species – including several national and international conservation priorities – have been recorded in the region.

Eva Varga, HWDT Operations Manager commented:

“We want Whale Week to create a real buzz about western Scotland’s wonderful whales, dolphins, porpoises and basking sharks. We are fortunate to have one of Europe’s most important habitats for these remarkable marine creatures – and by raising awareness and protecting them we can bring economic and social benefits to the entire region.”

Guests will be able to step onboard survey boats, hear talks by experts, and enjoy fun and educational activities.

There will be a daily treasure hunt and displays at HWDT’s visitor centre; touch tank sessions run by Tobermory Harbour Association and HWDT; a pub quiz and music evening in Tobermory’s Mishnish Pub; and an award ceremony for artwork, music and writing created during the week and for the winners of a window display competition.

HWDT’s unique research yacht, Silurian, previously used in filming of the BBC’s acclaimed series The Blue Planet and nicknamed the ‘floating classroom’, will return from pioneering research expeditions across the Hebrides to Tobermory on 8 June for four days.

There will be opportunities to go onboard Silurian and Celtic Mist, the research vessel of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.

Presentations will highlight the latest research findings and discuss the killer whales of the North Atlantic, including the West Coast Community living in the Hebrides – a pod thought to be the UK’s only resident group of orcas.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group will discuss their research of humpback whales in the North Atlantic, while local company Sea Life Surveys will describe 30 years of respectful whale watching.

The closing day on 14 June will feature beach activities with competitions, demonstrations and creative activities for children, families and adults.

HWDT works to secure the future of western Scotland’s cetaceans and their marine environment by enhancing knowledge and understanding through education, research and engagement with local communities. People can support crucial research by reporting sightings of cetaceans and basking sharks, or by volunteering alongside marine scientists on research expeditions.

For a schedule of Whale Week events, please call 01688 302620 or visit www.hwdt.org.

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Marischal Square: Last Chance To Save Magnificent View

Aberdeen City, Environment 5 Responses »

May 302014

By Ken Hutcheon.

People will be aware that there is a major development being proposed where the old council buildings are being demolished at Broad Street.

Several hundred went to see the exhibitions by MUSE (the developers) and indeed many put in their comments and often objections to the plans they saw.

The final plans have now been submitted to Aberdeen Council to obtain approval.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, MUSE did not take those approx. 1100 comments and objections into account when arriving at their final design. (See the web site below for a breakdown of the feedback responses given to MUSE at the first exhibitions). So now is the time to make your comments or objections really count.

A website has been set up at www.marischalsquare.weebly.com which shows the wonderful perspective in Central Aberdeen we are about to lose for generations unless you object by following the links on the web site which will take you through to Aberdeen City Planning.

There you can view the latest plans and make comments or objections to the plans online while on their site. These comments/objections will form part of the report which will go to Aberdeen City Planning Committee and have to be taken into account when the Council make their final decision on the plans.

After some correspondence with Aberdeen City the cut off date for objections or comments has been changed from 06/06/2014 to 18/06/2014 so there is time to lodge your comments on the plans.

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25 Years Of Action Celebrated at ‘Lost World’ Estate

Environment, Featured No Responses »

May 302014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

A quarter century of pioneering conservation action was marked by Trees for Life on Sunday 25 May 2014.
A celebration open day was held at the award-winning charity’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, Inverness-shire.

Dozens of supporters and local people gathered at the acclaimed biodiversity hotspot near Loch Ness for a day of activities, and to celebrate Trees for Life’s first 25 years of restoring the ancient but endangered Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands.

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, planted the final tree of Trees for Life’s ‘Celebrate’ project, through which volunteers have planted 6,500 trees, one for each athlete at the Commonwealth Games.

Special guest BBC presenter, writer and Trees for Life Patron Vanessa Collingridge planted the charity’s 25th anniversary tree. Drew Hendry, Leader of Highland Council, planted a tree to commemorate the dedication of the charity’s thousands of volunteers.

Cyclist Tim Judge arrived from London by bike, after cycling 600 miles in six days. The gruelling journey was part of Tim’s challenge of cycling 5,000 miles on his bike Issy to raise £1 per mile for Trees for Life.

Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said:

“These magnificent Caledonian woodlands, which to many people are synonymous with Scotland, are one of our most highly prized natural assets, and conserving and expanding these beautiful woodlands is vitally important for the integrity of our landscape and the vitality of our biodiversity.

“Trees for Life has played an important part in that conservation effort and 25 years of restoration is certainly something to celebrate, especially in this Year of Homecoming that focuses on Natural Scotland.

“I would also like to think that planting a tree for every Commonwealth Games athlete will encourage some of them – and the many thousands of visitors who will be joining us – to take the time to experience Scotland’s woodlands for themselves.”

Drew Hendry, Leader of Highland Council, said:

“I was delighted to plant one of the commemorative trees at Dundreggan Conservation Estate. Trees For Life’s work at this flagship project on natural regeneration and biodiversity aligns very well with the Highland Biodiversity Action Plan, and with Highland Council’s long-term commitment of achieving a carbon neutral Inverness in a low carbon Highlands by 2025 – our Carbon CLEVER Highlands initiative.”

Trees for Life’s Executive Director Alan Watson Featherstone said:

“During the past 25 years, thousands of volunteers and many generous donors have helped us to breathe new life into Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest. More than a million trees have been planted or regenerated, more than 10,000 acres of new forest created, and hundreds of lives transformed through the benefits of time spent carrying out positive conservation action in green places.

“I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this remarkable achievement, and everyone who will help us in the future as we expand and extend our innovative work to restore the world-class wildlife and landscapes of the Highlands.”

The celebration day included guided walks to explore ancient woodlands and spot wildlife, opportunities to meet and feed wild boar and learn about their role in restoring the forest, and children’s activities including animal tracking, pond dipping and games.

A new Trees for Life exhibition ‘From Caledonia to the Commonwealth’, a stunning photographic exploration of ancient forests across the Commonwealth, was officially launched by Vanessa Collingridge. The exhibition is part of the charity’s ‘Celebrate’ project, funded with support from the National Lottery funded Celebrate programme.

Dundreggan is Trees for Life’s flagship project. The 10,000-acre estate has been described as a Highlands “lost world”, with more than 3,000 species identified so far – including 10 species never recorded in the UK before.

With the Caledonian Forest being one of the UK’s most endangered habitats and with many of its rare species in danger of extinction, Trees for Life aims to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration, by 2018. People can help by becoming a member, carrying out conservation action, sponsoring trees for special occasions or sponsoring an acre of native forest. See www.treesforlife.org.uk.

Tim Judge can be supported in his cycle challenge at www.justgiving.com/GingerBittersOnABike. Tim’s progress can be followed at www.strava.com/athletes/gingerbittersonabike.

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