How will the Tomatoes fare this year?

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

A few weeks back I though that we were going to have a nice Summer and that the seasons were going to behave and allow crops to develop normally. Looking at the weather report for the weekend it’s seeming that my thoughts were misplaced! I’m holding off putting in more sweetcorn plants that are rapidly outgrowing their pots in the greenhouse – the wind just wouldn’t be kinds to them if I planted them out now.

There are a huge quantity of tomato plants waiting to go out too, and they’re a little bit too delicate to cope with the blustery conditions. I really hope we don’t have the same blight as last year, which swept through the allotment with relish. I love making passata and was so disappointed to have no tomatoes of note last time around.

This year I have a dehydrator and vacuum packer to prepare and store whatever crops do survive. I’m hoping to be able to create a whole host of stored goods to use throughout the year. It was really sad that there were so many raspberries and strawberries that went to waste as there’s only so much jam I can make and use! This time around, lots of dried fruit will be easier to store and used throughout the year.

So now, I’m just crossing my fingers for a good spell of plant growing weather!

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Badger cull myths exposed in new report

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

Ill-fated Government pilots could start today

On the eve of a potentially devastating badger cull, Team Badger has published a report exposing the badger cull myths which underpin these misguided plans.

Team Badger’s ‘Mythbusters Report’ has been published to correct inaccuracies and misconceptions being used to justify the killing of thousands of badgers. The group, made up of the RSPCA, IFAW, the Humane Society International (UK), Born Free, Dr Brian May’s ‘Save Me’ organisation, the League Against Cruel Sports and many other national and local organisations, aims to demonstrate that the near-extermination of the badgers will have little or no impact on reducing bovine TB in cattle.

Despite overwhelming scientific, parliamentary and public opposition, the Government confirmed last week that it will still go ahead with a cull of badgers, which could start as early as tomorrow (Saturday 1 June). Alarmingly, Defra have also indicated that the plans could quickly be rolled out further and wider following the six week pilot in parts of West Somerset and Tewkesbury.

RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant said:

“There are many myths in circulation about badgers and bovine TB being used to justify this cull. They are unscientific, dangerously inaccurate and need to be exposed.

“We care about cows and badgers alike. It is time to set the record straight and tell the truth that the cull will not help the cattle or stop bovine TB.

“Only a full vaccination of badgers and cattle coupled with better bio-security on farms can do that.”

The myths busted in the report include:

  • MYTH: Control of wildlife is the only way of getting rid of the bovine TB in cattle
    FACT: Other countries have dealt with the problem by controlling cattle movements

  • MYTH: BTB has spread because of better legal protection for the badger
    FACT: There are many cases of bovine TB in cows where there are no badgers

  • MYTH: Badgers infected with bovine TB suffer so culling them would improve their welfare
    FACT: Few badgers have the disease (less than 15% in one study) and there is no evidence it impacts on the badger population

  • MYTH: It is cheaper to cull than vaccinate
    FACT: When the costs of policing the cull, which the government estimate at over £2 million per area, and the administration costs are added in, the bill could reach £10-20 million if the cull is rolled out as proposed

  • MYTH: Vaccination of badgers is not a practical solution to the problem of bovine TB
    FACT: Badger vaccination programmes are successfully tackling the disease in England and Wales

  • MYTH: Culls in Ireland, USA and New Zealand have proved this method could work in England
    FACT: There are many differences between these countries – in Northern Ireland bovine TB is reducing without a cull

  • MYTH: Many scientists support the cull
    FACT: The government’s own scientific group said culling will make no meaningful difference and many scientists agree it could make things worse

Team Badger opposes the badger cull for both scientific and welfare reasons. We sympathise with farmers dealing with the problems of this disease. We care just as much about cattle as we do about badgers, but agree with the experts that a cull would be of little help in eradicating bovine TB in cattle, and could even make it worse in some areas. We stand ready to work with the farming community to deliver more effective alternatives including the vaccination of both badgers and cattle and improved biosecurity.

Mark Jones, Humane Society International/UK Director & Veterinarian said:

“With the lives of so many thousands of badgers at stake, it is unacceptable for the public and farmers to be hoodwinked into believing that a cull will be effective in tackling bovine TB.

“Political spin is playing fast and loose with scientific facts and that’s got to stop.”

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Look for Hedgehogs and more before you strim, says RSPCA

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

Bank holiday gardeners urged to check for wildlife, including Hedgehogs

The RSPCA is warning gardeners to tread carefully to avoid harming the wildlife which may be living in their gardens.

Every year we receive calls about animals with distressing and often fatal garden injuries which in most cases are completely avoidable, and with gardeners likely to make the most of the bank holiday weekend we are urging caution.

Past cases include a toad with its hind legs chopped off by a strimmer, a hedgehog burnt in pampas grass clearance, a blackbird speared by a garden fork and a toad stuck in a watering can.

Already this spring we have seen several hedgehogs caught by strimmers, a snake fatally injured by a lawnmower in Chelmsford and last week some fledglings nesting in some long grass had been caught by a strimmer in a garden in Reading. Most of the baby birds managed to escape but one little fledgling had such extreme head injuries that he had to be put to sleep.

Last Tuesday, RSPCA inspector Peter Ferris was called out to rescue a hedgehog found with a broken leg in a garden in Looe, Cornwall.

He said:

“The poor thing had been slashed by a strimmer and had such bad injuries that he died. It was a complete accident, but one which could have been so easily avoided by a quick check to see if anything was hiding in the grass.

“Unfortunately these casualties are not unusual at this time of year. Every year we see cases like this – some of them pretty distressing. Hedgehogs are one of the most affected as they curl up into a small ball when they sense danger and can be hard to spot in the grass. We also get a lot of frogs, toads and snakes with limbs missing and other horrendous injuries.

“May bank holiday weekend normally encourages some very enthusiastic gardeners to get out and sort out their back yards.

“But however impatient people feel – we urge a little bit of caution. Taking two minutes to check for wildlife before strimming, mowing or cutting could save an animal’s life. You never know what might be hiding away in the undergrowth.”

Last year there were 45 incidents reported to the RSPCA and it is feared that unless care is taken there could be many more this year. Quick checks for wild animals lurking in the grass or foliage could be all that is needed to save them losing a limb – or life.

Ways to avoid such injuries include avoiding cutting hedges whist birds are nesting, checking for birds or their nests if clearing scrub, brambles or trees has to be done now; keeping drains and swimming pools covered; and removing sports and garden netting and storing it in a safe place when not in use.

It is also worth keeping some areas of the garden ‘wild’ and ‘untidy’ as many animals rely on leaf piles, compost heaps and even weeds for nesting and food. Frogs and toads rely on pond weeds for homes and disturbing them could expose them to the cold or disturbing their eggs.

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Come and join Brian May help save the badgers

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

Rock star and RSPCA supporter Dr Brian May is to speak at a public meeting this Saturday (April 22) to oppose plans to kill thousands of badgers in England.

With the Government’s potentially devastating cull of badgers set to start in less than eight weeks, campaigners from Team Badger are gathering to mobilise support.

Speakers joining RSPCA vice-president Brian May, are RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant, League Against Cruel Sports Chief executive Joe Duckworth and Steve Jones, a retired dairy farmer and lead in ‘Not in this farms name’ campaign.

The open public meeting will start at 7pm at Taunton Conference Centre.

Gavin Grant said:

“We urge anyone who wants to help save the badgers and help cattle to join us at this meeting.

“There has been overwhelming scientific, political and public opposition to these plans and science has shown that killing badgers is not the answer to problems of bovine TB in cattle.

“Time is running out. Unless something is done quickly this senseless slaughter could begin in a matter of weeks.

“As plans stand thousands of badgers will die – virtually eliminating them from large areas of the countryside. Yet the problems of bovine TB will not be solved.”

The RSPCA has long campaigned against plans for a widespread badger cull for both scientific and welfare reasons. We sympathise with farmers dealing with the problems of the devastating disease, but know a cull would be of little help in eradicating bovine TB in cattle, and could even make it worse in some areas. We stand ready to work with the farming community to deliver more effective alternatives including the vaccination of both badgers and cattle and improved biosecurity.

Instead more than 70% of the badger population in large areas of the countryside, many of them healthy, would be wiped out by these culls.

This view is supported by the public, scientists and MPs, who voted in overwhelming numbers against the cull in a full debate on the floor of the House of Commons last autumn when the cull was originally planned.

Badgers were given a temporary reprieve shortly afterwards as the cull was postponed, but the Westminster Government has since announced that its ill fated plans will now go ahead in areas of Somerset and Gloucestershire this summer – probably around the start of June. Plans may already be being made for a further cull in Dorset.

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Harrowing scenes of suffering in footage of animal experiments

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

The RSPCA is appalled and horrified by the levels of animal suffering revealed in undercover footage of animal experiments at a leading UK university, and is supporting calls for an independent inquiry.

Harrowing scenes filmed at Imperial College in London show staff carrying out surgery on rats which are not properly anaesthetised; killing others using inhumane techniques and botching various surgical procedures.

In the shocking images filmed undercover by British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), staff often appear to be incompetent and untrained – making unacceptable mistakes and causing horrific suffering.

RSPCA Chief Executive Gavin Grant said:

This footage is appalling – one of the worst and most upsetting cases our research animal experts have ever seen. Many of us have been close to tears watching it.

It shows total incompetence and a complete disregard for the animals experimented on and the legislation which has been put in place to protect them.

I am quite simply revolted at the pain and distress these animals had to endure. How people could cause such suffering – and also witness it and do nothing – is totally beyond me.

Imperial College is one of the many organisations that is signed up to a ‘Declaration on Openness in Animal Research’ which claims that UK research ‘meets the highest welfare standards’ for animal experiments.

Evidence from the footage shows these standards are not being met and the RSPCA supports the BUAV in their call for an independent inquiry and will be making our own representations to the Government, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Home Office, and to Imperial College.

The RSPCA would prosecute anyone causing the level of suffering to animals shown in the footage.

It is frankly obscene that Imperial College has signed up to a declaration that includes high animal welfare standards when there is such atrocious practice under its own roof

added Gavin Grant.

If the scientific community really cares about animal welfare, as they so often claim to do, then we expect to hear them speak out and condemn this appalling breach of trust.

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Campaigners welcome draft legislation to ban wild animals in circuses

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

The Born Free Foundation, British Veterinary Association, Captive Animals’ Protection Society and the RSPCA today welcomed the Government’s draft legislation to ban the use of wild animals in circuses in England, to be implemented in 2015.

The groups, which have worked closely together for a number of years on the campaign to seek an end to the use of wild animals in big tops in the UK said that they were “delighted” to see the ban brought forward in concrete terms.

A spokesperson, talking on behalf of all four leading organisations said:

“We are pleased to see that the Government appear to have come good on their promise to ban the outdated practice of using wild animals in circuses.

“We have long argued that the complex needs of wild animals cannot be met in a travelling circus environment and were disappointed when the Government introduced a licensing regime earlier this year which appeared to legitimise a practice which we, and our hundreds of thousands of supporters, want to see abolished altogether.

“We are looking forward to seeing the ban fully implemented at the earliest opportunity”.

The groups said that they would work to support Government in the formal enactment of the Bill and the Born Free Foundation and the RSPCA reiterated their pledge to offer to find safe homes for life for all wild animals currently being used in English circuses

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It’s now or never for badgers, says RSPCA over proposed badger cull

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

The RSPCA is urging action over the proposed badger cull to prevent the killing of thousands of badgers in England.

The Westminster Government’s potentially devastating cull of badgers is set to start in less than three months, despite overwhelming scientific, political and public opposition.

The RSPCA and its colleagues in Team Badger are aiming to deliver the largest ever Number 10 petition of more than 250,000 names. The Government can’t ignore the facts any longer. Plans for a cull are fundamentally flawed and will not solve the problem of bovine TB.

The petition against plans to shoot badgers in two pilot areas in Gloucestershire and Somerset reached a record 100,000 signatures in just two weeks when it was launched last September. It has since risen to more than 180,000.

RSPCA Chief Executive Gavin Grant said:

“Time is running out for the badgers and it’s a case of now or never. It is not too late to stop this senseless slaughter, but if we are going to save them and help the cows we need to act now.

“As plans stand thousands of badgers will die – virtually eliminating them from large areas of the countryside. Yet the problems of bovine TB will not be solved.

“We urge all those who agree with us to sign this petition. We owe it to both cows and badgers to ensure the real action of vaccination against Bovine TB starts now. We are ready to work with farmers and landowners who share this aim.

“Support has already been fantastic and we are not far off achieving the biggest ever number 10 petition. The badgers and cows cannot speak for themselves. We can act for them and in doing so make the UK Government listen.”

The RSPCA has long campaigned against plans for a widespread badger cull for both scientific and welfare reasons. We sympathise with farmers dealing with the problems of the devastating disease, but believe a cull would be of little help in eradicating bovine TB in cattle, and could even make it worse in some areas. We stand ready to work with the farming community to deliver more effective alternatives including the vaccination of both badgers and cows and improved biosecurity.

Instead more than 70% of the badger population in large areas of the countryside, many of them healthy, would be wiped out by these culls.

This view is supported by the public, scientists and MPs, who voted in overwhelming numbers against the cull in a full debate on the floor of the House of Commons last autumn when the cull was originally planned.

Badgers were given a temporary reprieve shortly afterwards as the cull was postponed, but the

Westminster Government has since announced that its ill fated plans will now go ahead in areas of Somerset and Gloucestershire this summer – probably around the start of June. Plans may already be being made for a further cull in Dorset.

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Looking for an answer to a rat or mouse problem?

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

I was reading my copy of Country Smallholding magazine and saw an advert by the Middlesex North West branch of the RSPCA. They’re advertising for farmers, smallholders or livery yards that might be having a rat or mouse problem to contact them about one of their neutered feral cats. Seems like a good way to help keep the population of unwanted visitors at bay, whilst giving a home to a healthy feral cat.

The cats are delivered and you’ll also get a starter kit, although I’ve no idea what that is! Perhaps someone from the RSPCA can let me know…

If you’re interested in a cat in the Middlesex area then contact them on (020) 8966 9688 or email them at info @ rspcamiddlesex.org.uk

Of course, if you’re in a different area then get in touch with your local RSPCA centre, I’m sure they’ll be able to help.

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Pet Fostering Service provides help for silent sufferers of domestic abuse

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

The RSPCA is currently inundated with a record number of pleas for pet fostering help from families who are escaping domestic abuse and asking for someone to care for their pets.

The charity runs a pet fostering service, PetRetreat, which looks after cats and dogs belonging to victims of domestic abuse. Many people feel unable to escape as moving into temporary accommodation often means they have to leave their animals behind.

PetRetreat is launching an appeal for cat fosterers in Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, South Wales and the Midlands. PetRetreat manager Carolyn Southwell said:

“We really need more people to come forward to foster cats in these areas so we can provide urgent help to people trapped in this harrowing situation.

“We get so many calls and we just don’t have enough foster homes. We simply cannot continue to help if we don’t find more fosterers to care for these very special cats.”

As a recent example of a family that found help through Pet Retreat; we were contacted by domestic violence outreach service after their client fled to a women’s refuge.

Unfortunately after only two weeks of being in refuge she returned to her abuser after he made threats against her cat Oliver, who she had been forced to leave behind with him.

After a month of going home she was attacked again by her husband and hospitalised and PetRetreat received a call, saying she would only leave and go into refuge if a foster home could be found for Oliver.

Oliver came into PetRetreat’s care for a period of six months, during this time he was neutered, vaccinated and microchipped at an RSPCA Centre and then he went to a foster home until his owner was re-housed and able to take him home.

The RSPCA has seen annual increases in the demand for the PetRetreat pet fostering service and is handling nearly 100 calls a week from victims of domestic abuse who need someone to foster their pets so they can leave the situation.

If you think you could be a PetRetreat fosterer, please log onto www.rspca.org.uk/petretreat

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RSPCA outraged after badger cull announced for summer 2013

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Nick (EcoLovers founder)

The RSPCA is outraged that the Government has ignored public, parliamentary, EU Commission and scientific opinion and announced that it will be going ahead with plans for a badger cull this summer.

Plans for these pilot culls had been due to go ahead last autumn but were postponed but today (Wednesday 27 February) Defra issued a statement saying that the final licences had been granted and that the culls would go ahead from June. They also said they were ‘preparing’ a third pilot cull area in Dorset.

RSPCA Chief Executive Gavin Grant said:

Despite overwhelming scientific, public and parliamentary opposition the Government seems hell bent on pressing forward with their senseless plans to kill badgers.

All the evidence shows that the answer to the problems of bovine TB in cattle does not lie in a cull that will be an ineffective, wasteful and potentially damaging to the welfare of both farm and wild animals.

We care about cattle and badgers alike and have great sympathy for the farmers dealing with the effects of this disease – but killing badgers is not the answer.

Just yesterday, the EU commission gave evidence to the government and said that the only way to get rid of the disease in cattle was to improve cattle movement restrictions, and that the UK was the one of the few countries in the EU that allowed so much cattle movement.

Vaccinations of both badgers and cattle along with more effective biosecurity is the way forward to secure the welfare of both cattle and badgers and the long term livelihood of farmers.

The RSPCA stands ready to work alongside all those seeking to develop and implement a badger vaccination and biosecurity campaign as the alternative to this barbaric badger cull.

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