Letters to the Editor

21 May 20

Songbird decline
Sir,
There are illogical flaws in current wildlife management
licensing regimes for when commercial enterprises are
compromised by wildlife (Policy of predation, letter, May
16).
Bullfinches, a songbird of conservation concern, may be
culled if they are shown to damage commercial apple
orchards but buzzards, a raptor of no conservation
concern, are almost untouchable if they are caught
attacking free-range chickens or pheasant poults.
What is beyond doubt is that one of the main reasons for
the decline in biodiversity is the loss of habitat.
Sparrowhawks surprise finches in open farmland that
would once have been a network of enclosed hedgerows,
magpies search overly neat gardens and badgers eat avocet
eggs from exposed scrapes.
Rob Yorke
Abergavenny