Time to return to the original plea made at the consultation 10 years ago. Let's have some land that's free from farming, free from top down management, free from wildlife-persecution by humans. It's not just that these things exist; those who are responsible insist that they must do it everywhere. We have a nation of empire builders who can't accept any restriction to their activities: farmers, managers and now frackers, all exploiters of the land.
The interest groups are relentless. And they are incapable of living alongside anything they think might damage their wish to take profit from the land. Too often it's wildlife that they see as a threat. It's sometimes not easy to tell whether they really believe there's a threat or it being a case of simply enjoying shooting and killing wildlife. Some appalling killing of wildlife has been going on recently and among the sufferers have been the Tayside beavers referred to in the latest article from Mark Fisher. The inhumanity of some of the wildlife killing challenges any faith we have left in our fellow men.
Notwithstanding honourable exceptions, some farmers and some land managers seem determined to drive a wedge between their industry and those of us who cherish wildlife and natural beauty. So maybe it is time to reassert the plea and upgrade it to a demand. Lots more 'free from' land, that's entirely free from the exploitation of vested interests. And while we're at it let's scotch once and for all the now tired and utterly cynical self-serving doctrine that all land must be managed and must be farmed with sheep and cattle.
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