Cull of the Wild: Killing in the name of conservation
Hugh Warwick (Bloomsbury, £18.99)
AS someone who has culled many animals to protect wild and reared game and, as a result, seen a lot of wildlife thrive, including hen harriers, merlin and black grouse, I was interested in the author’s motivation to write this book. We could not be more different: Hugh Warwick a vegan conservationist and me a meat-eating gamekeeper, a person/profession the author cannot get his head around.
However, we do agree on many points and, above all, share a passion for wildlife, as do many folks who have been deemed to kill for fun. With the state of Nature in such a perilous state, the publication of this book is timely, as we need this important conversation to conclude and be acted upon swiftly.
It is well written and researched; Mr Warwick has taken the time to speak to many people involved with this controversial subject. There are so many different perspectives, from the practitioners to the thinkers, the killers to the leave-it-aloners, and therein lies the problem: the bubbles we put ourselves into, and the frenzy whipped up by social media, has reduced the way forward to a state of inertia.
A quote from New Zealand ecologist Chris Jones sums up the situation: ‘Wildlife management is complicated, ecology isn’t, that is just science.’ As the author says in the next paragraph: ‘Studying the way that the web of life works is definitely hard, but it really only teeters on the edge of impossible when you introduce people into the equation.’ The fact is that humans have caused these ecological disasters, either by accident or design, and it is humans that will have to enact—or not—the decisions they make.
After visiting and talking to folk at the sharp end of projects, Mr Warwick has come to some realistic conclusions: that no animal dies well in Nature, that a well-planned and executed cull results in less overall death and suffering and that lethal control is, in the short term, the only way to save some vulnerable species. He remains ethically challenged on the act of killing, but ends with a thoughtful statement: ‘And what I hope for is that we recognise the danger of the empty wine glass, and we fill that void with thoughtful conversation, a willingness to brave the world outside our own bubbles, and above all, good wine.’ Simon Lester
The frenzy whipped up by social media has reduced the way forward to a state of inertia
A prize of £25 in book tokens will be awarded for the first correct solution opened. Solutions must reach Crossword No 4824, Country Life, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6JR, by Tuesday, April 9. UK entrants only
ACROSS
6 Swing by capital for food (9,4)
8 Probability of an opportunity (6)
9 Crush charged particles in large numbers (8)
10 Bite and a drink (3)
11 Oppose target (6)
12 Language little used in the gloaming (8)
14 Way wood delivered to writer is hidden (7)
16 Fight back when deliver cards suggesting ill fortune (3,4)
20 Express disdain for teddy bear repeatedly (4,4)
23 Starts to throw stones (6)
24 Current measure from a politician... (3)
25 ...a despot who does not write his own speeches perhaps (8)
26 Rages and tears after a short time (6)
27 Sly eurocrat he tricks in disloyal manner (13)
DOWN
1 In repose discussed forefathers (8)
2 Been east to find missing person (8)
3 Reminds school dance at brief points (7)
4 Stew cold when served to me (6)
5 Firm gets one to collect ancient Roman coins (6)
6 The box I sit in I see as way to show off (13)
7 Sympathetically and ardently hiked all over (4-9)
13 Deep blue (3)
15 Short trip in spring (3)
17 Notice choice to take something on as one’s own (8)
18 Broadcast small decline in Gaelic (8)
19 Lease document (7)
21 Dislike of scarlet attire (6)
22 The look of something, spirit measures perhaps? (6)