Language Matters

The excellent War on Wildlife site is currently running a ‘Language Matters’ campaign and it gets to the heart of what is wrong with the current UK system. There is currently no consistent definition of ‘wildlife’ in the UK. The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and subsequent amendments give some protection to particular species but make no attempt to establish what ‘wildlife’ actually is. Presumably the Game Conservancy Trust had a definition in mind when they changed their name to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust although their version may differ substantially from more mainstream conservation organisations. Without a definition is is difficult to know what is actually being protected and therefore to act effectively.

The recent case in which Wild Justice challenged the unregulated release of vast numbers of game birds created much anger in the shooting industry who see no problem with it whilst simultaneously decrying the apparent release of beavers on the River Tay in Scotland. We certainly do not support the release of the ‘Tay beavers’ (which are now ‘protected’) but nor do we see that game bird release is any different. So are game birds ‘wildlife’? They are artificially reared, kept dependent for a short time and then shot for pleasure. The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘wildlife’ as “animals and plants that grow independently of people, usually in natural conditions”. On that basis clearly game birds cannot be defined as ‘wildlife’.

It is extremely difficult to protect something unless you have a clear idea what it is you are trying to protect. In the UK the absence of a satisfactory definition of ‘wildlife’ makes its effective protection almost impossible. Many of the problems now categorised as ‘wildlife crime’, such as game bird poaching, might be better classified as ‘rural crime’ and dealt with accordingly.

We are at a crucial point in the fight against the persecution of wild animals, with many of the accepted norms being challenged. If we wish to protect our natural heritage for succeeding generations then we need to act decisively now which will not be easy in a society run by the selfish and entitled.