Friday 4 July 2014

Trusting Your Eyes


There are no trees in the picture but all on this side of the fence is untainted by intrusive clumsy efforts at farmification. The young deer are in the flourishing bilberry on the clean side while the unappealing sheep pasture earns its agricultural subsidy. The deer are elegant with spotless coats while the sheep look far from thriving. For all the space they enjoy, like cows they're often decorated with dried and caked excrement. The cattle themselves are occupying the same area near the gate. They rarely look curious or alert. The word bovine tells it all. Bored, uninterested and uninteresting. Trust your eyes.

Much of the effort put in by the conservation industry alongside the farming industry goes into persuading us that we must not put too much weight in what we see. That's understandable. Because those who use their eyes can see straight away that management decisions uglify the natural environment. So spin has to be deployed to sow doubt in our minds. Forget what you see; listen to these words. We know best.


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