Letter: Taking bites out of the New Forest
IN recent weeks in the A&T we have read that Forestry England wants to have mobile cafes in the Forest to attract more money – ie more people, litter, noise and pollution.
The National Park Authority has awarded prizes for more houses (ie more of the above). Dog owners have protested that their pets should be allowed to roam free irrespective of numbers and cyclists from time to time ask for similar free to roam access (again, more of the above)
Insects form two thirds of all life on earth. Or used to. They pollinate three quarters of all plants and are the food on which birds, fish and animals depend.
German entomologists have measured that in just 27 years the number of flying insects has fallen by three-quarters. Eight times faster than vertebrates.
At an insect level we are witnessing the largest extinction event on earth in 250 million years.
Nature is in crisis. Possibly irreversible decline (and hence also us humans). But possibly not. We all need to do a thousand things to save nature.
Every little bite we take out of the New Forest adds to the crisis. It reduces insect numbers.
Time we all, NPA and FE included, made some changes.
Peter Padfield
Holmsley
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MANY moons ago, my brother took part in a school quiz, and one of the questions was: “What is a verderer?” We laughed when he told us that a girl from an opposing team had confidently shouted out that a verderer was a snake!
My family have been commoners with livestock running on the New Forest for many generations, so we all understood the unique role of the verderers. On verderers.org, the verderers claim to serve the New Forest by protecting its unique agricultural commoning practices, and conserving its wildlife, flora and fauna, peace and cultural heritage.
Now I have read in Anthony Pasmore’s New Forest Notes (A&T 5th April) the verderers have voted to back the siting of food and beverage outlets in locations across the Forest.
Such facilities will encourage yet more tourism and compromise the wildlife, commoners animals and the peace that the verderers are appointed to protect.
The verderers appear to have forgotten their role, and I am certainly not laughing now. It seems the girl in the school quiz was right after all.
Lucie Rowe
Totton
