NFU Scotland said farmers had played a part in conserving threatened species
Methods of controlling geese to protect grazing land are no longer “fit for purpose”, according to NFU Scotland.
The farming organisation said numbers of greylag had increased to levels that could no longer be managed by current schemes.
Geese have been blamed for damaging grass and crops. Crofters on the Western Isles have called for culls.
NFUS has raised the issue as farmers gather for the Black Isle agricultural show near Inverness.
‘Threatening business’
The union has published a letter from its president Nigel Miller to Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson.
Mr Miller wrote: “Geese in their thousands are devastating grassland in our most fragile farming areas, threatening farm businesses and livestock numbers as the land becomes ungrazeable.
“Previously, local goose management schemes met the costs of impaired production, as well as ensuring that conservation objectives and international obligations, such as the EU Birds Directive were met.
“Funding to these schemes has been cut, however, and now that the bird populations are high and farm input costs, in particular energy and fertiliser, have rocketed, the schemes do not make up sufficiently for farm business losses incurred.”
Mr Miller said farmers and crofters had, at the same time, played important roles in the conservation of threatened species such as Barnacle.
Scare geese
Greylag numbers on the Western Isles have been a long-running issue for crofters.
Last year, their calls for some geese to be shot were supported by the islands’ MSP.
Under the Uist Goose Management Scheme, fireworks, kites and special fencing are provided to frighten geese away from pastures and arable crops.
People are also employed to scare geese from August through to October.
But SNP MSP Alasdair Allan said last September that a lot more could be done “by way of shooting to solve the problem”.
And then, of course, we had his puerile description of the Scots taking part
in the Games as “Scolympians”, in yet another pathetic effort to
avoid saying the “B” – for British – word.
On Tuesday we had Shona Robison, the SNP sports minister, following suit. Not
normally known as an original thinker she stuck rigidly and unsurprisingly
to the party line in praising the efforts of Scottish competitors at the
Games, again without managing to refer to the fact that they were members of
Team GB. However, yesterday when Britain won its first gold medal through
the efforts of Lossiemouth-based and Gordonstoun and Bath
University-educated Heather Stanning, in combination with Helen Glover, her
rowing partner, La Robison managed to admit that it was an “achievement
for Team GB”.
Mind you, the minister had little option given that Heather is a captain in
the Royal Artillery and is clearly as British as she is Scottish, which will
be a huge disappointment for Nats everywhere, even if their local
representatives did insist, hilariously to my mind, on describing her as a “local
Moray quine”.
Mind you, the St Andrew’s House civil servant who wrote the press release that
was issued in the minister’s name, and which admitted that there was such a
thing as a British team, may well find that future promotion prospects are
not what they once were. We shall see.
The truth is that any Scot with an affinity for the Union flag – or “Butcher’s
Apron” as most Nats call it – is not regarded too highly by our current
political masters.
They are ferociously anti-Britain, anti-British and, most of all, anti anyone
who thinks of himself or herself as a Brit. And don’t let any rubbish from
Alex Salmond about seeking to maintain a “social union” persuade
you of anything different.
The disappearance of the businesswoman Carole Waugh is now being treated as murder by detectives at Scotland Yard.
A 47-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of the 50-year-old’s murder, the Metropolitan police said. The same man was first arrested as he arrived at Luton airport on a flight on Tuesday night, on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and suspicion of kidnap.
Waugh went missing after visiting her family in Durham over the Easter bank holiday weekend in April. Scotland Yard said the last confirmed sighting of Waugh was on 16 April in London. It is known that she spoke to her mother on the phone the next day. But after that, contact seems to have stopped.
Her family reported her missing in early May. The case was handed to detectives from homicide and serious crime command of Scotland Yard 10 days ago. Within hours they realised her bank accounts had been the subject of high value suspicious fraudulent activity and appealed for information about her.
It emerged last week that Waugh, whose family believed she was an executive in the oil industry in Libya, had perhaps had a mystery life as a high class escort in London. Police said that was one definitive line of inquiry in their hunt for Waugh, who has been missing for three months.
Scotland Yard on Wednesday released pictures of valuable jewellery which has gone missing from her flat in Marylebone, London. The police have previously revealed that suspects in her disappearance tried to sell her flat and also defrauded her out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Police have arrested 10 men and women in the investigation into Waugh’s disappearance.
Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane, leading the murder hunt, has appealed for information about Waugh’s life in London.
She had worked in Libya for the nationailised oil industry for eight years before returning to London. Originally from a mining village in County Durham, her family have made emotional appeals for information about her whereabouts.
The announcement that the police were now engaged in a murder hunt will have confirmed their worst fears.
Mcfarlane said: “Information has been received which has progressed this inquiry and we are now treating Carole’s disappearance as a murder investigation.
“I am unable to go into further detail about the nature of the new information at this time, however, we now believe that Carole has not been seen alive since 16 April. Since that time, significant plundering of her estate has taken place to the value of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“In addition to a number of fraudulent transactions associated with Carole’s bank account there are also a number of her personal possessions that currently cannot be located.
“I am releasing images of items of Cartier jewellery, identical to that worn by Carole, which are amongst items missing from her personal possessions.
“The jewellery that is missing is as follows: a Cartier ring, a white gold bracelet; a yellow gold bracelet and a yellow gold necklace, which are all in the same style.
“Carole wore the jewellery regularly and I appeal to anyone may have been offered such jewellery or has any knowledge of its whereabouts to contact us with information.
“Anyone with information that can assist this investigation is urged to contact the incident room at Sutton on 020 8721 4205; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
TUESDAY morning should really have been a rest and recuperation day.
But that isn’t how it works when you stupidly plan to do the entire 1,000 miles in nine days.
We had a schedule to keep and a hotel booking to make in Lockerbie, a mere 115 miles away.
Naturally, it felt like a day off after the previous marathon.
The day had a few factors in its favour, in all truth.
For one, we got to ride through the Lake District, taking in Windermere, Ambleside and other glorious spots as we carved our ay north through Carlisle to Lockerbie.
The day brought the usual mechanical setbacks, blown tyres and punctures, gear failings too but nothing we couldn’t overcome.
The sign at Gretna had welcomed us to Scotland but I didn’t relax until I got all the way to Lockerbie.
Our friend Mark Daly also jumped on board, leading the way from Lancaster to our final destination, taking the wind in his face as each of us took a welcome tow.
Mark knew Delia well and made a proper sacrifice to join us, as he had been in the Lake District with his family the day before, driving them home to Glasgow before returning by train to join us.
As I write this up at midnight, with alarm set for 5.30am, I’m sitting up in my bed at the Townhead Hotel in Lockerbie, listening to Daly snoring by my side. In the same bed
There was no room at the inn so I got stuck with him. If he moves in for a cuddle he’ll be in the corridor.
Only good news on that front was that the hotel proprietors waived the charge on account of the good cause.
A special mention to Enterprise car hire on that front too. Ww had been badly let down by another company, leaving us vanless the day before the adventure began. Enterprise stepped in and gave us 500 quid off the bill, which will boost the fighting fund too.
Hopefully Mark will be taking on the same responsibilities in the morning, taking to the front for another 115 miles to Balloch, from Lockerbie to Mearnskirk, round the houses in Ayrshire to the shores of Loch Lomond.
Weather forecast says ’100 per cent chance of heavy rain everywhere’…
Our Delia had a thrawn sense of humour on occasion.
If she’s looking down she’ll be having a laugh. She would hopefully be reasonably impressed with the progress so far.
View gallery
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View gallery
Day 5
FIVE days down out of nine and we’re still going.
The seven slightly crushed crusaders have staggered back over the border and we are now on Scottish soil again. Which means we are more than halfway to John O’Groats, some 580 miles out of the 1,000 required in just five days.
Sincere apologies for missing a blog report yesterday but Monday, stage four, was 140 miles long, taking us from Ludlow to Lancaster through patches of torrential rain.
It took in a series of punctures and misnavigations, leading to 14 hours on the road.
By the time we arrived at the Holiday Inn I wasn’t even sure where we were headed, other than bed. Lack of wifi, combined with a blown body and mind, was quite enough reason to defer for a day.
Best intention of an early start were thwarted by a puncture suffered by my brother John, the chief organiser of the expedition, just 223 feet after leaving the Cliffe Hotel in Ludlow.
By the time we got the Shrewsbury, 30 odd miles away, we had gone through a deluge of the A45 and ended up moe than two hours behind schedule.
We have come to learn that in times of greatest strife, the back-up team of my dad and Cameron come into their own, bringing in spare tyres, waterproof overshoes and all manner of vital supplies at our times of need.
After meeting the odd couple, who have now completed more than 1800 miles of driving, in a Morrisons car park, we steeled ourselves for the remaining 110 miles and actually got motoring.
Progress through Whitchurch was rapid and we were soon bearing down on the exotic visual charms of Wigan, Warrington and finally Lancaster. Not the most scenic day but he longest ride any of us had ever completed and more than 12 hours from pillar to post.
We even managed a power finish, taking advantage of a modest tailwind to steam home at an average speed of more than 20mph for the last 20 miles. I’m still wondering where that came from.
I’m especially astounded that my younger brother David has managed to keep up the pace, given that he had never stepped on a bike between childhood and this February.
So far I’ve managed to resist the temptation to go with two pairs of cycling shorts to counter the growing ache in my undercarriage, borne out of 500 miles of pounding the pedals.
I’m anticipating the double-up may emerge quite soon but worried that if I start padding up right now there could be a sofa required by next weekend, the way my ragged buttocks are screaming for mercy.
For more details on why the boys are doing the ride and how to donate, click here
FOR MORE DETAILS ON WHY THE BOYS ARE DOING THE RIDE AND HOW TO DONATE, check www.difd.co.uk
LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson was left hanging as he got stuck in mid-air on a zipwire at an Olympics event.
He tried out the 148ft high, 1050ft-long line as he visited Victoria Park in the capital.
Wearing a hard hat and waving two Union flags, things seemed to go swimmingly at first.
But as Johnson reached the end of the line it rebounded before running out of momentum about 30ft above the ground.
The mayor was left dangling inelegantly from his harness for about five minutes above a crowd of onlookers who happily snapped photographs on their mobile phone.
One shouted: “I heard Ken Livingstone set up the zipline.”
Johnson responded: “This is great fun but it needs to go faster.”
Always keen to take an opportunity to promote the Olympics, he spent his time cheering on Team GB athletes and encouraging tourists to visit London.
He shouted to helpers: “Get me a rope or a ladder.”
Eventually event staff pulled him to safety.
The mayor then took on a local youngster at table tennis – which he once famously insisted was originally called “wiff waff”.
Talking on radio later in the day, Johnson said: “You may remember a long time ago, I fell in a river in order to promote volunteering.
“It was in exactly the same spirit that I brilliantly decided to come to a juddering halt in the middle of the zip-wire in order to promote our wonderful live site at Victoria Park.
“Get on down to Victoria Park, folks. Free entertainment, hog roast, you name it. It turned out I was the Yuri Gagarin of the zip-wire. I was testing it.”
Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes will be named in the Scotland squad to face Australia after being left out of the under-21 pool.
Rhodes, who made his full Scotland debut as a late substitute against Cyprus in November, will be among the players Craig Levein selects for the August 15 friendly at Easter Road.
Scotland Under-21s play Belgium at East End Park the previous night and head coach Billy Stark named his squad with defender Murray Wallace the only Huddersfield player present.
Blackburn and Fulham have both reportedly targeted 22-year-old Rhodes, who scored 48 goals last season for Town and Scotland Under-21s.
Stark, who also called up Stoke midfielder Jamie Ness, said: “That season will be difficult to repeat but in the previous two seasons he scored one in two, which is a fantastic average at any level.
“He is a goalscorer and a chance is a chance, and I don’t have any doubts that if he gets a chance he will score in the Championship. You could maybe be a bit surprised he hasn’t had a move after the season he has had. The window is open until August 31 so it still wouldn’t surprise me.
“But he is such a grounded boy and he is not one who would be neglecting his work with Huddersfield waiting and wishing he was going to get a move to the English Premier. He is looking forward to playing in the Championship. The Scotland path has been open to him before in Cyprus. He has been exceptional at under-21 level.”
Ness returns after injury wiped out the vast majority his final season with Rangers. But he had already made enough of an impression in his 16 first-team games to prompt Stoke to move when the Ibrox club went into liquidation.
Stark said: “Jamie has been involved with us through the youth teams so I know all about him. It has been really frustrating for him and also for us that he has had a number of injuries and never been able to get a full run. But he has had a full pre-season behind him and played over in the States with Stoke.”
Stark is looking to use the Belgium game to sharpen his side up for two European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Luxembourg and Austria in September with a play-off spot in reach.
Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes will be named in the Scotland squad to face Australia after being left out of the under-21 pool.
Rhodes, who made his full Scotland debut as a late substitute against Cyprus in November, will be among the players Craig Levein selects for the August 15 friendly at Easter Road.
Scotland Under-21s play Belgium at East End Park the previous night and head coach Billy Stark named his squad with defender Murray Wallace the only Huddersfield player present.
Blackburn and Fulham have both reportedly targeted 22-year-old Rhodes, who scored 48 goals last season for Town and Scotland Under-21s.
Stark, who also called up Stoke midfielder Jamie Ness, said: “That season will be difficult to repeat but in the previous two seasons he scored one in two, which is a fantastic average at any level.
“He is a goalscorer and a chance is a chance, and I don’t have any doubts that if he gets a chance he will score in the Championship. You could maybe be a bit surprised he hasn’t had a move after the season he has had. The window is open until August 31 so it still wouldn’t surprise me.
“But he is such a grounded boy and he is not one who would be neglecting his work with Huddersfield waiting and wishing he was going to get a move to the English Premier. He is looking forward to playing in the Championship. The Scotland path has been open to him before in Cyprus. He has been exceptional at under-21 level.”
Ness returns after injury wiped out the vast majority his final season with Rangers. But he had already made enough of an impression in his 16 first-team games to prompt Stoke to move when the Ibrox club went into liquidation.
Stark said: “Jamie has been involved with us through the youth teams so I know all about him. It has been really frustrating for him and also for us that he has had a number of injuries and never been able to get a full run. But he has had a full pre-season behind him and played over in the States with Stoke.”
Stark is looking to use the Belgium game to sharpen his side up for two European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Luxembourg and Austria in September with a play-off spot in reach.
Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes will be named in the Scotland squad to face Australia after being left out of the under-21 pool.
Rhodes, who made his full Scotland debut as a late substitute against Cyprus in November, will be among the players Craig Levein selects for the August 15 friendly at Easter Road.
Scotland Under-21s play Belgium at East End Park the previous night and head coach Billy Stark named his squad with defender Murray Wallace the only Huddersfield player present.
Blackburn and Fulham have both reportedly targeted 22-year-old Rhodes, who scored 48 goals last season for Town and Scotland Under-21s.
Stark, who also called up Stoke midfielder Jamie Ness, said: “That season will be difficult to repeat but in the previous two seasons he scored one in two, which is a fantastic average at any level.
“He is a goalscorer and a chance is a chance, and I don’t have any doubts that if he gets a chance he will score in the Championship. You could maybe be a bit surprised he hasn’t had a move after the season he has had. The window is open until August 31 so it still wouldn’t surprise me.
“But he is such a grounded boy and he is not one who would be neglecting his work with Huddersfield waiting and wishing he was going to get a move to the English Premier. He is looking forward to playing in the Championship. The Scotland path has been open to him before in Cyprus. He has been exceptional at under-21 level.”
Ness returns after injury wiped out the vast majority his final season with Rangers. But he had already made enough of an impression in his 16 first-team games to prompt Stoke to move when the Ibrox club went into liquidation.
Stark said: “Jamie has been involved with us through the youth teams so I know all about him. It has been really frustrating for him and also for us that he has had a number of injuries and never been able to get a full run. But he has had a full pre-season behind him and played over in the States with Stoke.”
Stark is looking to use the Belgium game to sharpen his side up for two European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Luxembourg and Austria in September with a play-off spot in reach.
NFU Scotland said farmers had played a part in conserving threatened species
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