News and views from around the countryside
BAD EGGS
BEAVER TRIAL WINS The Scottish Beaver Trial, the fi rst ever licensed reintroduction project for beavers in the UK, has won Britain’s Best Conservation Project in the 2013 BBC Countryfi le Magazine Awards. A partnership between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the fi ve-year study is now in its fi nal monitoring year and fi eldwork is scheduled to wrap up in May. For more about the beaver trial, turn to page 114.
An enquiry that started in the UK in 2009 involving the collecting and trading of wild birds’ eggs has led to the conviction of three Swedish egg collectors. One of the men was jailed for a year. It follows the seizing by police of a collection of over 2,000 birds’ eggs in County Durham in 2009. This was examined by RSPB investigators. Around 6,000 emails showed the suspect was involved in exchanging birds’ eggs with a ring of people in England, Scotland, Sweden, the United States and Australia. Raids led to the conviction of Keith Liddell from Inverness in March 2013. Enquiries by Police Scotland and the RSPB identifi ed a link to egg collectors in Sweden, and information was supplied to the Swedish authorities.
Ban would mean busier bees The Scottish Wildlife Trust is calling for a pesticide to be permanently banned from use on crops in
Scotland after new research suggests it harms bumblebees. It adds to the growing body of evidence showing the group of pesticides called neonicotinoids is harmful to bees. The research demonstrates that bumblebees have diffi culty collecting pollen when they have been exposed to this chemical – causing them to bring back over a third less pollen than non-exposed bees. This means there is less food for the colony and could explain why queen bees are becoming less productive.
WILD WEST Dumfries and Galloway is teeming with wildlife in spring, a special time of year that promises wildlife enthusiasts abundant opportunities to experience brilliant birdlife and amazing animals up close. Dumfries and Galloway’s Wild Spring Festival, Scotland’s largest and longest-running wildlife festival, will this year present its biggest programme with over 100 family-friendly events, many of which are free or charge a modest admission of under £5 per person. See
www.wildseasons.co.uk
DEER CONTROL ISSUES UNDER EXAMINATION Deer management groups have been told by MSPs that progress on deer control has been ‘too slow’. In response to this and to various recommendations from the Scottish Parliament – and following its inquiry into deer management and the environment last autumn – Richard Cooke, Chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, said: ‘We are encouraged by the recommendations from the committee to the minister, and there is much in this report with which we agree – for example, that the impacts of deer rather than their numbers is most important, and that it is premature to undertake a review of the code of practice on deer management at this time.’
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 119
PHOTO: PHILLIP RICE
PHOTO: KEITH KIRK
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