Logic? - have a word; I'm a bloke!

Those of you who regularly visit this blog - seek urgent medical help! No, not really, but please take the content as a nothing more than the flick of a butterfly's wing in a tornado - completely irrelevant to the bigger picture. I'm not suggesting that the butterfly has no role but, the scale needs perspective. My opinions are of minuscule importance, away from the Dumpton HQ, and my opinion on the subject of anglers and their perceived contribution to UK conservation is 100% mine, and mine alone - I seek not to influence others in their perception of a wonderfully enjoyable hobby, or those who partake in such activity.

A Brown Rat - feeding on the remnants of the blackberry crop; cute!
What would you think if it was eating the Kellogg's cornflakes in your pantry??

Otters are a "hot" subject, at present, within the angling community - I'm not buying it! Cormorants - I hate the bloody things; southern interlopers coming over here and eating our fish. Mink? They haven't got a friend on this side of the pond, unless you still wear fur coats (Beautiful animals and ugly women - remember that one?) Badgers - bovine TB? Isn't the clue in the title? Bovine relates to cattle, not badgers - who is passing this disease to who? We can inoculate our kids with MMR serum - so what's the problem with inoculating our cattle with an anti-TB jab?  Badgers and cows are both in the clear, we don't eat badger (unless your name is Baldrick) so the job's a good'n!
I'm rambling - and you're still reading (think on!) - the interaction between humanity and the wildlife that shares our space will always be an arena where emotion plays as important a role as science/logic.

 

There is not an angler within the UK who would argue against Kingfishers
being able to hunt for prey at their fishery

Our farming has become an industry of mono-culture; on Thanet they grow cauliflowers and potatoes - incredibly well. Sugar beet is a Fenland speciality whilst cereal crops provide massive incomes for the farming communities of the "Shires" Be under no illusion that this is a criticism of farmers - it is not - I have many good friends who are directly involved in this industry. They work bloody hard to keep the supermarkets stocked with cheap food (that we all enjoy!) - Tesco/Sainsbury's/Wallmart are the key players in this caper.



A vixen and two cubs - good or bad news? I don't farm sheep, they don't eat fish - so are they a problem on Thanet?
They're not? Why would the owner of Newland's Farm feel the need to shoot over 170 in 2013.

 



All the while that "multi-nationals" are the key players - our government/regulators will play lap-dog to their demands in order to remain in a position of influence/power. Depressing? Yep! - I've just about given up on this system to deliver clean water into our rivers. I don't believe a planning application will ever be refused because of an SSSI or other environmental factor. Big business - big money and it won't stop there.

I can't say that I'm right, because I have no proof - but put these theories into your own worlds and see if you don't find some amazing coincidences! It is a depressing situation; I'm getting wound up as I write this stuff. Thankfully nature has a tendency to fight back, in the most unexpected of ways, and I'm confident that my enjoyment will not be reduced by whatever interference is decreed by faceless clowns in the corridors of power. As this has very little to do with pike or observation - so I'll quit now, while I'm still ahead?

 

If they were not white - would anglers be calling for a cull of these recent colonists?

I can't get the balance of it all. I enjoy my fishing/birding,encounters with umpteen other aspects of our natural world yet, still retain a grasp of what is required, by a successful business, to prosper.
I owe Sarah Frost so much more than she could ever know - my first insight into how industry works - and now find myself indebted to another visionary. FSIS is only headed in one direction - and that is digital - I'll be at the front holding the flag! "Money talks - bull-shit walks"; welcome to the reality of 2013. Fishing, natural history, all things environmental, yep - I'm in, but it will never replace the basic desire to provide for me, and my family - business wins again?