Ness of Brodgar Newsletter……The Dwarfie Stane……From ‘Wild Justice’…..
by Bernie Bell - 07:54 on 08 May 2024
Ness of Brodgar Newsletter……
https://go.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/nl3/CW_fgpO-thKHyxww8hrI0g?hl=en
Help out and maybe win a trike-ride!
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The Dwarfie Stane….
……Part Two….
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/dwarfie-stane-2/
Another good one from Sigurd!
Re. the egg-shaped stone…
https://theorkneynews.scot/2022/04/17/a-different-kind-of-easter-egg/
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From ‘Wild Justice’…..
“Good morning! This newsletter discusses our new findings on lead levels in game meat, Badger culls, a knock-back for Plymouth tree protectors, great success for Open Seas in the Scottish courts, a wait for Whitewebbs Park and an opportunity to contribute to the protection of Red Kites in Northumberland and Durham.
Lead ammunition: Wild Justice has led the way on testing lead levels in game meat for sale in UK supermarkets and by other retailers. There are no legal limits to the amount of lead that can be present in game meat sold for public consumption - we have sometimes wondered whether a Pheasant feather stuck on a lump of lead could be sold as game meat?!
Our latest results cover game meat sold by a variety of retailers and we also have results from Waitrose game meat which we will release later.
Have a look at our blog post - click here - but the short version of the results is that there are levels of lead present in game meat which would be illegal if found in other meats.
The shooting industry said that they would phase out the use of toxic lead ammunition in five years - after four years, the game meat on sale is still high-lead. Our study adds considerably to the results of another study reported earlier this year (see here) which shows that the shotgun pellets found in game meat are still primarily lead pellets. Our study shows that lead levels in the meat are still high too.
We've said before that we need government to act - and renewed thanks to so many of you who responded to the government lead ammunition consultation. But the Health and Safety Executive has recently announced that there will be a further delay, until September, in providing advice to government - click here. It's almost as though the game shooting industry has a stranglehold on its regulators.
Badger culls: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs consultation on a ramped up Badger cull in England closes on 13 May - next Monday. We shall provide some briefing on this subject at the end of this week. To be honest we've been scratching our heads on this one - the consultation is awful!
Varying fortunes with community legal challenges:
- STRAW (Save the Trees of Armada Way) Plymouth: we were sorry to hear that STRAW lost their case against Plymouth City Council although the Council paid their costs and the judge seemingly said some very positive things about the challenge. Wild Justice supported the judicial review of Plymouth City Council's plans to remove trees from the city centre with a £2,500 contribution to legal costs and some publicity. The last we heard, STRAW were considering an appeal.
- Open Seas: Wild Justice supported a successful legal challenge, by Open Seas, of the Scottish government's failure to regulate damaging dredging for scallops; we contributed some advice and £10,000 towards legal costs. The judicial review was heard in May 2023 and the successful outcome was announced in July. But the result was appealed. In the appeal, the Scottish government lost again - click here. This was an important case to take and win - and win Open Seas did! Many congratulations!
- Whitewebbs Park: Wild justice contributed to this legal challenge about the future of a park in London. The local campaigners had their days in court and are now anxiously awaiting the outcome - we know how that feels. We wish them success.
Red Kites: in a recent questionnaire you told us that you'd like to have more opportunities to use your field skills - we're still thinking about what we could ask you to do but here is an example that we spotted. The Friends of Red Kites are based in the Northeast of England and are asking for sightings of Red Kites in Durham and Northumberland. If that's where you live, or if you pass through and see some Red Kites, then let them know through their website - click here.
That's it for now!
Thank you,
Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).”
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