A few weeks ago we commented on David Cameron’s pledge, since repeated by Boris Johnson, to be the ‘greenest government ever’. This was in light of moves by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to remove the legal protection afforded to many species including mammals.

Following the outrage that was voiced by almost all conservation organisations and many individuals Froglife, published an open letter to JNCC expressing concern (see here) which was signed by most of the major UK conservation Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The reader will note that the list of signatories does not include any of those self styled conservation groups who have shown themselves so keen to kill any species that interferes with the profits of the driven grouse shooting industry.

In response to this JNCC is now offering open discussions and consultations at some vague point in the future but requesting that all the signatories refrain from promoting this issue on social media. Clearly they are running scared, having been caught out trying quietly to push through this major change, which will have a disastrous effect on wildlife throughout the UK.

One of our number, a retired civil servant with considerable experience in this area suggests that ‘don’t make a fuss in public and we’ll talk about this later’ is a standard ploy from government when caught out in this sort of activity and is primarily intended to stop the bad publicity.

We are not signatories to this letter and whilst we respect the attitude of those who are we are extremely concerned about the changes that JNCC have been caught trying to push through under the radar. We will keep saying this on social media and elsewhere. We urge everyone who is concerned for the welfare of our native wildlife and the health or our environment to do the same.

Governments respond to pressure not to silence. If you want to keep our natural heritage intact then ACT NOW!