Playing God

A post suitable for Sunday. Thankfully I won't get the opportunity to play God. It's a responsibility I wouldn't want. But the nature conservation lobby is doing it all the time. They prefer some species of birds, animals, plants and insects to others and manage habitats to encourage them. This rarely gets questioned. Hardly a wildlife or countryside programme is broadcast without us being told how certain species are doing well because things have been well managed. Going wild would never do. But we shouldn't forget that every bird that does well in a habitat means another is not getting a look in. Selectivity is built into the conservation management industry and the economy that sustains it. So for instance they bring along farm domestic animals to eat plants so that the 'right' kind of vegetation attracts the 'right' kind of birds. And the process of management of these sites can be a good living and a pleasant occupation for those who like producing forests of paper work. But what does that mean for other birds, and importantly other mammals? Wild mammals are rarely a priority - in fact downright discouraged sometimes because they can conflict with the currently fashionable priority and also with the desires of other land managers such as farmers or the game industry.