Western Daily Press (Saturday)
It’s farmers who need protecting from public
With both cattle and humans about to head for the fresh air in huge numbers, Bridgwater and West Somerset Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger tells Defra Secretary George Eustice it’s time the Government seriously promoted the Countryside Code
DEAR George, I was somewhat disturbed this week to read some farm consultant lecturing cattle keepers about not putting the public at risk by allowing animals to graze indiscriminately after turn-out.
He went to great lengths to explain the various way in which farmers are constrained by various bits of legislation as to how, where and when they should allow livestock into fields where there are public rights of way.
The man is clearly out of touch because according to my postbag it’s not the public that needs protecting from farming activities; it’s farmers who need protecting from the public.
Just take a moment to run down the list of recently reported incidents, from the shocking incidences of sheep-killing (I refuse to employ the euphemism of ‘sheep-worrying’ to save anyone’s feeling) to the flock killed as a result of ingesting flytipped garden waste, and assess for yourself whether it’s the public or the farming community which is in want of a lecture. And I think you will come to the same conclusion as me.
I am, George, immensely grateful that more people have been tempted during lockdown to resort to the countryside in search of rest, relaxation and a chance to clear the mind.
I am particularly pleased for this state of affairs prevailing in my constituency where, despite its evident charms, much of the countryside has been under-patronised in the past.
But the worrying fact remains that a large proportion of those venturing out are doing so without the faintest idea of how to comport themselves.
Gates are left open, dogs allowed to run freely (more than 50% of all dog attacks on sheep occur on land where there is no public right of way) and the view is generally taken that once one shuts the car door the entire countryside is open to be walked across and explored like a gigantic rural theme park.
I direct your attention yet again to the CROW legislation which was trumpeted as loudly as the arrival of the ten commandments on the stone tablets as throwing the entire countryside open with an implied right to roam wherever the spirit so moves.
No such effort was made to direct the public’s attention to the fine print, to the limitations and restrictions which still applied. And that, I am afraid George, is the point where a slight problem turned into a major one for farmers.
I note the farming organisations are calling for new impetus in promoting the Countryside Code in order to tackle – as they put it – increasing anti-social behaviour incidents which are putting farmers, livestock, wildlife habitats and livelihoods at risk.
Clearly it is the responsibility of Government, rather than the farming organisations themselves, to sort this out because it’s government legislation that is at the seat of the problem – legislation which I recall those same farming organisations warning two decades ago would lead to precisely the situation we are in today.
Perhaps we need to be a little more constructive in how we get the message across. Maybe a short video featuring a group of farmers turning up in a suburban street, walking through all the gardens with their dogs in tow, helping themselves to fruit and flowers and sitting down to enjoy a picnic before departing but leaving their rubbish in situ.
I tell you what would happen if this were really enacted George: the air would be filled pdq with the sound of sirens, uniforms would appear, stern warnings would be issued and arrests would be made if they were ignored.
But farmers, it seems, are expected to put up with such behaviour on a daily basis. One law for the town, another for the country. Or is that just too cynical?