Packham and his Platform

[John Bailey]

As a one-time professional historian, I had sympathy for Huw Edwards this week for being roundly censored by his employer, the BBC. Edwards had spoken out about the removal of a portrait of Sir Thomas Picton from the National Museum, Cardiff. Whatever Picton may have done two hundred years ago, Edwards condemned “the censoring of history” and called for the painting’s reinstatement. For many years, here in the UK we have abhorred the rewriting of history when it has been done by the Russians, Chinese, or various religious sects, but now it seems we are just as careless of the facts as anyone else.

Edwards fell foul of the BBC’s policy that “staff should not express a personal opinion on a matter of public policy, politics or controversial subjects”. Whether or not we want robots or human beings presenting our news is not for me to say, but I do find it strange that the BBC clamps down on some but not others. Chris Packham has been employed by the BBC for many years and has used his position there to “express personal opinions on public policy, politics and controversial subjects” throughout his tenure.

I had one meeting with Chris Packham which was extremely unpleasant, but I have tried to ignore this and keep an open mind, which, like many anglers and country people, I have found difficult. As an example, I’ll give Packham’s vocal condemnation of game shooting as a sport.

Ping Pong (aka Ian Miller) by The Great Wye Oak… how old is this flood plain tree!?​

I have recently moved to Herefordshire, deep in a secluded valley. There are fields and orchards around me, but also over a score of small woodland pockets. These are a haven of wildlife and account for the plethora of birdlife I am revelling in. They are, of course, shot for pheasants too but on a small scale, largely by farmers, friends and family. These last few days, there have been guns firing at odd times, and I have gone out of my way to speak to those responsible. They have unanimously made the point that they preserve woodland for wildlife and sport both, and that if the latter were made illegal, it would probably convince them to submit to financial pressures and replace trees with crops where possible.

Now, like Packham, I don’t like shooting personally. I did shoot as a lad, and beat for big shoots on Norfolk estates around me. The whole scene I found not to my taste, but many friends who I admired, adored it. Unlike Packham, I took their views into account, and the valuable side-effects shooting has on countryside diversity… the word of the moment I know!

In short, for many years now, Packham has used the BBC as a platform for his own agenda, much of which is “political” or “controversial” and yet, as far as I can tell, he remains above reproach in the organisation. Last year I contacted a BBC producer to beg for air time so I could point out the damage canoeing does on shallow rivers at spawning time. I was told that whilst he sympathised, the subject was “too controversial” for the BBC.

We really do live in strange times.

My tree-studded landscape, a woodland wonderland
that could be threatened by the ending of the pheasant shoot​

The post 'Packham and his Platform' first appeared in Fishing Magic Magazine.

Continue reading...

 

[mikench]

We really do live in strange times.

I could not agree more and will continue to blame political correctness as one of the great ills of society. History is by definition a portrayal of things past ,warts and all, and should remain that way. Trying to airbrush out those bits society today deems politically incorrect betrays history and we run the risk of not learning from it. It is also highly hypocritical.

 

[barbelboi]

My thoughts too......................

 

[Molehill]

I have lost count of the number of complaints that have gone into the BBC (from organisations) regarding Mr Packham using his position there to forward his own agenda - neutral and balanced he is not and makes no attempt to be. The BBC mutter away and nothing changes, he is still there and will probably remain there for as long as he has an adoring public hanging on his every word.
He has a large chip on his shoulder and an ego to match.

 

[xenon]

Packham does give off more than a faint whiff of zealotry-everything is fine so long as you are in complete agreement with his pronouncements.

 

[john step]

I am allergic to Packham.

 

[Ray Roberts]

A short while ago it was said that he was subject to an arson attack. It would seem that this most probably wasn’t the case. Sometimes it suits the agenda to play the victim card.

This is how it was portrayed by
Packham and the media.

Chris Packham vows to continue activism after arson attack on home | Environmental activism | The Guardian

BBC Springwatch presenter says car set alight and gate burned down at New Forest property

amp.theguardian.com

This is an alternative take on the same subject.

Chris Packham and the omitted facts about the so-called ‘arson attack’ outside his house

Last week there were multiple headlines that Chris Packham was the victim of “an arson attack” on account of his activism, after a Land Rover was set on fire outside his house in the New Forest. The images released of Mr Packham’s gates going up in flames are graphic and it is a relief that no...

www.c4pmc.co.uk

I know which seems to be the most likely to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[John Aston]

The inconvenient truth is that Packham might be irritating , but he is often right. I may disagree with him on many subjects, but I admire his resilience in sticking his head above the parapet , rather than just grumbling into his beer that the world' s gone to the dogs as some of us do.

Shooting is an emotive subject and this is what I think -

I have shot since I was a teenager, and even had my own farm shoot for a few years. I've shot pigeon , partridge, pheasant , duck and have even shot a brace of grouse on the Glorious 12th. But I have major problems with some aspects of the sport, and even bigger ones with some of the people who make a living out of it. Such as ?

- illegal persecution of raptors. Unforgivable, barbaric and still common in North Yorkshire and elsewhere .

- the attitude that any predator should be eradicated - crows, jays , jackdaws , magpies, foxes and the rest . Taking pot shots at these , often when not even in range , is common . Even 'humane' Larsen traps are a bloody disgrace . Shoots moan about predators as if they are under siege -and never, ever seem to accept that if you release thousands of prey , predator numbers increase.

- the number of birds released on big shoots is obscene . Not a thought is given to the environmental impact . Ever wonder why you don't see many amphibians and reptiles on terrain that's seemingly ideal? Pheasants love 'em ...

- big shoots can involve hundreds of birds being shot a day. Most guns take a brace home . The rest? Buried in some cases , sold on in others. But to a small market as the public don't like eating game .

- every single shot involves 150 or more lead shot being deposited. And BASC is still stalling on new materials , 30 years after anglers were banned from using lead shot . No obvious thought is given to the environmental impact of many kilos of lead being deposited on every big shoot day. Lead free is mandated for duck / geese - ie over wetland - but nowhere else


The sport needs to sort itself out pronto. Big commercial shoots need to stop and so does persecution of raptors , and the rest. I have no issue at all with sustainable shoots , where no birds are stocked and bags are sensibly small . Grouse shooting can be fine - you can't breed them so it's about managing the right environment and not being greedy . But leave the Hen Harriers alone eh ?

There are obvious parallels with our sport . I think it is as grotesque to expect to catch hundredweights of fish from the more extreme commercial fisheries as it is to kill 500 pheasants a day while pretending that such industrial scale organic target practice is sport.

Don't assume Packham must be wrong because he's so hard to like. ...

 

[Molehill]

Good points and I agree with some but shall play devils advocate anyway and make some points of my own. Similar to yourself I had my first shotgun at 13 years old and am now coming 69, but shooting has never been a major sport and driven/organised shooting holds no great apeal - a single beaters day a year satisfied me!

- illegal persecution of raptors. Unforgivable, barbaric and still common in North Yorkshire and elsewhere .
It has certainly been bad (I have no idea of Yorkshire specifically), but let us acknowledge that raptor numbers in UK are at their highest for 100 years (over 250,000). I take that as a positive and believe the tide has turned and persecution is waning. But the positive is never mentioned. 2021 has also seen the best breeding season for hen harriers in England in modern times, the tide is turning and their recovery starting.

- the attitude that any predator should be eradicated - crows, jays , jackdaws , magpies, foxes and the rest . Taking pot shots at these , often when not even in range , is common . Even 'humane' Larsen traps are a bloody disgrace . Shoots moan about predators as if they are under siege -and never, ever seem to accept that if you release thousands of prey , predator numbers increase.

For a moment I thought you were talking about fishermen and fisheries there! I would disagree with you on the need for predator control as I do believe it an important part of conservation outside of organised shooting as well.

- the number of birds released on big shoots is obscene . Not a thought is given to the environmental impact . Ever wonder why you don't see many amphibians and reptiles on terrain that's seemingly ideal? Pheasants love 'em ...

Having spent many years working around shoots and been beating on large commercial shoots when retired - I agree with you. It left me feeling very uneasy at the numbers and again so similar to commercial trout fisheries, ditto with the environmental impact of commercial shoots/fisheries. Having worked in commercial fisheries and on the periphery of shoots I found it hard to tell the difference.
Pheasants and amphibians and reptiles, I agree. And if you want to see real carnage of frogs, slow worms etc. come and watch our free range chickens and ducks running about the fields - nothing is left alive - but again this would never get a mention to the public who want "free range".

- big shoots can involve hundreds of birds being shot a day. Most guns take a brace home . The rest? Buried in some cases , sold on in others. But to a small market as the public don't like eating game .

Yes it happens and is wastefull but put in perspective: I came home last week from fishing with 3 brace pheasants from the butchers at £1 brace (not plucked), so a roast pheasant for 2 of us costs 25p each. Not far off free meat. Despite that shoots struggle to sell game, but again big efforts are being made to market and improve the situation, though personally I am quite happy with me 50p pheasant.
Food wastage in perspective. I don't think the average UK citizen worries much about food waste judging by these figures:

Food waste in the UK​

According to the most recent report by the charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the UK produced around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in 2018. It is estimated that 70% of this total was intended to be consumed by people, with 30% classified as “inedible parts”. Broken down by sector, this waste was comprised of:

• 6.6 million tonnes (70%) from households.
• 1.5 million tonnes (16%) from manufacturers.
• 1.1 million tonnes (12%) from hospitality and food service (HaFS).
• 0.3 million tonnes (3%) from the retail industry.

- every single shot involves 150 or more lead shot being deposited. And BASC is still stalling on new materials , 30 years after anglers were banned from using lead shot . No obvious thought is given to the environmental impact of many kilos of lead being deposited on every big shoot day. Lead free is mandated for duck / geese - ie over wetland - but nowhere else

Lead is rightly on the way out and being phased out and BASC is fully behind the transition to lead free, it is incorrect to imply otherwise.

"BASC has joined other rural organisations in issuing a statement on lead-free ammunition for live quarry shooting.
In consideration of wildlife, the environment and to ensure a market for the healthiest game products, at home and abroad, we wish to see an end to both lead and single-use plastics in ammunition used by those taking all live quarry with shotguns within five years."

I was at a conservation meeting about 3 years ago which included a BASC conservation officer and when chatting he told me then that lead was 100% going, alternatives are coming along and we shall soon change. Bear in mind this also includes rifle ammunition, some of which is not even in production yet and much not available. We are getting there fast.

Overall I believe shooting is now slowly getting it's house in order and I probably feel exactly the same about it as you do, the big corporate days have been verging on the obscene and certainly we walked away from them a few years back, but morally they are no different to the commercial side of fishing - especially put and take trout fisheries catering for the corporate, I did enough of them back in the day to know what went on.

 

[Badgerale]

The inconvenient truth is that Packham might be irritating , but he is often right. I may disagree with him on many subjects, but I admire his resilience in sticking his head above the parapet , rather than just grumbling into his beer that the world' s gone to the dogs as some of us do.

Shooting is an emotive subject and this is what I think -

I have shot since I was a teenager, and even had my own farm shoot for a few years. I've shot pigeon , partridge, pheasant , duck and have even shot a brace of grouse on the Glorious 12th. But I have major problems with some aspects of the sport, and even bigger ones with some of the people who make a living out of it. Such as ?

- illegal persecution of raptors. Unforgivable, barbaric and still common in North Yorkshire and elsewhere .

- the attitude that any predator should be eradicated - crows, jays , jackdaws , magpies, foxes and the rest . Taking pot shots at these , often when not even in range , is common . Even 'humane' Larsen traps are a bloody disgrace . Shoots moan about predators as if they are under siege -and never, ever seem to accept that if you release thousands of prey , predator numbers increase.

- the number of birds released on big shoots is obscene . Not a thought is given to the environmental impact . Ever wonder why you don't see many amphibians and reptiles on terrain that's seemingly ideal? Pheasants love 'em ...

- big shoots can involve hundreds of birds being shot a day. Most guns take a brace home . The rest? Buried in some cases , sold on in others. But to a small market as the public don't like eating game .

- every single shot involves 150 or more lead shot being deposited. And BASC is still stalling on new materials , 30 years after anglers were banned from using lead shot . No obvious thought is given to the environmental impact of many kilos of lead being deposited on every big shoot day. Lead free is mandated for duck / geese - ie over wetland - but nowhere else


The sport needs to sort itself out pronto. Big commercial shoots need to stop and so does persecution of raptors , and the rest. I have no issue at all with sustainable shoots , where no birds are stocked and bags are sensibly small . Grouse shooting can be fine - you can't breed them so it's about managing the right environment and not being greedy . But leave the Hen Harriers alone eh ?

There are obvious parallels with our sport . I think it is as grotesque to expect to catch hundredweights of fish from the more extreme commercial fisheries as it is to kill 500 pheasants a day while pretending that such industrial scale organic target practice is sport.

Don't assume Packham must be wrong because he's so hard to like. ...

Thank you for this. Mirrors my thoughts.

Even with fishing, we treat it as if it is this idyllic vision of man communing with nature, but it's mostly people dragging carp out of overstocked fishponds.

I do honestly believe that fishing is a force for good in the world, but we shouldn't turn to the dark side because people like to frame us that way.

 

[John Aston]

Last time I heard a BAC spokesperson. on Radio 4 , he was still wittering on that yes , yes , lead would be phased out , but over time. The next day The Times carried a similar story , and the next day it published my letter pointing out lead was banned almost overnight for anglers in the 90s , and that we didn't spray the stuff around deliberately , unlike shots . I speculated that shots must have friends in higher places than coarse anglers .

Increased numbers of raptors ? Indeed , excellent news , shame that it results in some knuckle dragging gamekeepers poisoning and shooting them . My patch of N Yorkshire is notoriously bad - in recent years the idiots have killed goshawks , buzzards and red kites . How dare they even pretend they are conserving the environment ?

Overstocked trout streams and ponds were indeed , very bit as cynically bad as commercial shoots still are . Different days now , but years ago I belonged to one club whose annual grayling day involved catching as many as we could and killing them all . Another club had a prize for the most , and biggest pike taken to the keeper's house .

We have moved on a long way - but there is still more to do . Shooting is decades behind us and is drinking in the last chance saloon unless it gets its act together fast .

 

[steve2]

I have been saying for years how long will it be before someone takes a close look at overstocked fisheries. These are just there for profit and hide behind rules that are suppose to be there for fish welfare.

If they start on these type of fisheries then angling in general wont be for behind.

Fishing as, for some, moved away from bashing fish just because they eat other fish But like on the grouse moors it still goes on.

 

[John Bailey]

I’ve made it clear that I have issues with Packham, but that in no way clouds my views and I don’t like to openly criticise anyone, but I do genuinely feel he has not helped the cause of the countryman/woman and angler in general. I notice that there is debate whether Packham actually works for the BBC or not. I don’t think this matters a hoot. A huge number of BBC programs are produced by independent production companies which have to bide by BBC rules. In fact, I have been working for such a company for the last 4/5 years, and we have to be very careful not to cross the BBC and heaven help us if we did. The fact that Packham’s assertions are actually aired by the BBC is quite sufficient for those of us who care to wonder why.

But life does astound me. I have spent the day with two old friends who are highly intelligent, extremely successful, very well read, and generally well informed about most things in life. They are life-long anglers and fish in Iceland, Scotland, on the Test and the Wandle, as well as Clapham Pond when the mood takes them. I always enjoy my days with them for the conversation as much as anything else, and yet not either of them had a clue about the Wye, its problems and all the media attention around it these last two years. They were completely oblivious to the chicken farm issue, even though one of them had enjoyed lunch with Feargal Sharkey only a short while back.

Overall, do we feel the world is changing and that environmental issues just cannot be ignored forever? I don’t always sympathise with Greta Thunberg, but Blah, Blah, Blah has been the net result of so many attempts to right our rivers this past twenty years at least. Reading today’s Wye & Usk Foundation’s newsletter, I genuinely sense change is in the air... on the Wye at least. There is so much more to be said about this, and the battle will be waging long after I am dead and gone. I simply pray a shaft of light is there to be glimpsed at the end of this torturously long tunnel.

 

[David Rogers 3]

We really do live in strange times.

I could not agree more and will continue to blame political correctness as one of the great ills of society. History is by definition a portrayal of things past ,warts and all, and should remain that way. Trying to airbrush out those bits society today deems politically incorrect betrays history and we run the risk of not learning from it. It is also highly hypocritical.

Exactly. Sir John Picton, the subject of the censorship issue mentioned by John Bailey, was a very nasty piece of work at the same time as being one of the heroes of Waterloo (at which battle he was killed). Both stories need telling in any public museum or gallery displaying a statue or portrait of him and similar historical characters. To just remove any trace is re-writing history and entirely wrong.

 

[David Rogers 3]

Something I find annoying is the use of the phrase "discarded fishing tackle" in almost every news report about damage caused to wildlife, particularly swans. The same language is used in reports about marine mammals being caught in "discarded fishing gear", when in both cases what has most often caused the problem is line or netting that has been accidentally lost due to snagging, rather than it being carelessly thrown away. A small point, perhaps, but the choice of wording does matter when public reaction is concerned.

 

[mikench]

Language is often selective and ambiguous and used as such either erroneously or deliberately. A film review can be written " this film is so bad that it is beyond comparison and trylÿ magnificent at plumbing new depths of utter rubbish" . It can and often is used selectively and to convey a meaning entirely the opposite to that intended. For example just selecting the words " beyond comparison " " magnificent " is deliberately misleading. This unacceptable tendency is prevalent at the Beeb and within other media.

Packham probably isn't employed by the Beeb as an individual but through a company owed and run by him. Nevertheless said company should and probably is subject to the t&c's of the Beeb . Enforcement is another matter entirely. I don't dislike the man particularly but he isn't as compelling as David Attenborough.

There is nothing to compare with the unadulterated truth .

 

[David Rogers 3]

A film review can be written " this film is so bad that it is beyond comparison and trylÿ magnificent at plumbing new depths of utter rubbish" . It can and often is used selectively and to convey a meaning entirely the opposite to that intended. For example just selecting the words " beyond comparison " " magnificent " is deliberately misleading.

The finest (and earliest?) example of this art being the "Press Opinions" of Sellar & Yeatman's classic 1930 spoof "1066 And All That".

 

[LPP]

Unlike Packham, I took their views into account, and the valuable side-effects shooting has on countryside diversity… the word of the moment I know!

Good points and I agree with some but shall play devils advocate anyway and make some points of my own. Similar to yourself I had my first shotgun at 13 years old and am now coming 69, but shooting has never been a major sport and driven/organised shooting holds no great apeal - a single beaters day a year satisfied me!

- illegal persecution of raptors. Unforgivable, barbaric and still common in North Yorkshire and elsewhere .
It has certainly been bad (I have no idea of Yorkshire specifically), but let us acknowledge that raptor numbers in UK are at their highest for 100 years (over 250,000). I take that as a positive and believe the tide has turned and persecution is waning. But the positive is never mentioned. 2021 has also seen the best breeding season for hen harriers in England in modern times, the tide is turning and their recovery starting.

- the attitude that any predator should be eradicated - crows, jays , jackdaws , magpies, foxes and the rest . Taking pot shots at these , often when not even in range , is common . Even 'humane' Larsen traps are a bloody disgrace . Shoots moan about predators as if they are under siege -and never, ever seem to accept that if you release thousands of prey , predator numbers increase.

For a moment I thought you were talking about fishermen and fisheries there! I would disagree with you on the need for predator control as I do believe it an important part of conservation outside of organised shooting as well.

- the number of birds released on big shoots is obscene . Not a thought is given to the environmental impact . Ever wonder why you don't see many amphibians and reptiles on terrain that's seemingly ideal? Pheasants love 'em ...

Having spent many years working around shoots and been beating on large commercial shoots when retired - I agree with you. It left me feeling very uneasy at the numbers and again so similar to commercial trout fisheries, ditto with the environmental impact of commercial shoots/fisheries. Having worked in commercial fisheries and on the periphery of shoots I found it hard to tell the difference.
Pheasants and amphibians and reptiles, I agree. And if you want to see real carnage of frogs, slow worms etc. come and watch our free range chickens and ducks running about the fields - nothing is left alive - but again this would never get a mention to the public who want "free range".

- big shoots can involve hundreds of birds being shot a day. Most guns take a brace home . The rest? Buried in some cases , sold on in others. But to a small market as the public don't like eating game .

Yes it happens and is wastefull but put in perspective: I came home last week from fishing with 3 brace pheasants from the butchers at £1 brace (not plucked), so a roast pheasant for 2 of us costs 25p each. Not far off free meat. Despite that shoots struggle to sell game, but again big efforts are being made to market and improve the situation, though personally I am quite happy with me 50p pheasant.
Food wastage in perspective. I don't think the average UK citizen worries much about food waste judging by these figures:

Food waste in the UK​

According to the most recent report by the charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the UK produced around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in 2018. It is estimated that 70% of this total was intended to be consumed by people, with 30% classified as “inedible parts”. Broken down by sector, this waste was comprised of:

• 6.6 million tonnes (70%) from households.
• 1.5 million tonnes (16%) from manufacturers.
• 1.1 million tonnes (12%) from hospitality and food service (HaFS).
• 0.3 million tonnes (3%) from the retail industry.

- every single shot involves 150 or more lead shot being deposited. And BASC is still stalling on new materials , 30 years after anglers were banned from using lead shot . No obvious thought is given to the environmental impact of many kilos of lead being deposited on every big shoot day. Lead free is mandated for duck / geese - ie over wetland - but nowhere else

Lead is rightly on the way out and being phased out and BASC is fully behind the transition to lead free, it is incorrect to imply otherwise.

"BASC has joined other rural organisations in issuing a statement on lead-free ammunition for live quarry shooting.
In consideration of wildlife, the environment and to ensure a market for the healthiest game products, at home and abroad, we wish to see an end to both lead and single-use plastics in ammunition used by those taking all live quarry with shotguns within five years."

I was at a conservation meeting about 3 years ago which included a BASC conservation officer and when chatting he told me then that lead was 100% going, alternatives are coming along and we shall soon change. Bear in mind this also includes rifle ammunition, some of which is not even in production yet and much not available. We are getting there fast.

Overall I believe shooting is now slowly getting it's house in order and I probably feel exactly the same about it as you do, the big corporate days have been verging on the obscene and certainly we walked away from them a few years back, but morally they are no different to the commercial side of fishing - especially put and take trout fisheries catering for the corporate, I did enough of them back in the day to know what went on.

Thank you for your detailed balance views -

 

[rayner]

With Mr Packham being an Asperger sufferer should we allow him a little less animosity?
should we believe once he gets an idea in his head it is very hard for him to drop ideas? If he believes his gates were set alight can he change his mind?
Line discarded or lost is no one's fault but anglers are to blame through negligence or bad angling. Mr Packham does have an argument.
Generally, anglers are like-minded with regard to wildlife and littering.