The UK is Neither Wildlife nor Environmentally Friendly

 I have written before that despite what people and organisations say the UK is definitely NOT wildlife friendly. Ignoring the official suppression of the Bristol Fox Deaths Study I have to say that in 10 years not one wildlife group in Bristol has cooperated or helped in the badger/fox/otter work  Apart from photo opps and social media "Likes" badgers, foxes and even deer are not looked on with any regard. Pretty flowers, birds and "drinks evenings" are far more important than those "nasty little mammals"

In a post yesterday I referred to concerns regarding development of a site in Eastville Park, Bristol. I asked on the Face Book group Friends of Eastville Park whether anyone was protesting the proposed £400k sell off since the park is an established wildlife haven in an over developed area and has always been a place of peace and relaxation. No response. That didn't surprise me since the group refused to cooperate on badger deaths in the park and would not hand over a mysterious blue substance for analysis a couple years back.

My post yesterday included the email addresses I sent my concerns to in order that everything affecting wildlife and the environment is open to public view. A link was sent to the Park group -no responses.  However, a person addressed (on the Bristol Naturalist Society FB page)  my showing the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre response -which was neither confidential nor revealing anything not known over much of Bristol and far more is available online. The reply was NOT for public view or social media posting I was told./ I had no idea who the person was but explained that I do not hide anything unless I am requested to keep something confidential (in 50 years I have NEVER breached a confidentiality).

To make sure I emailed the BRERC person who responded to my email and apologised if I did not make the email clear (I did but I prefer to be polite anyway) and that nothing written in her reply was anything unknown to people in Bristol.  This morning I received an email from the person who tried to embarrass me on the FB group (which, incidentally sparked some nasty messages from other members to me) and NOW (in private) identifies himself as the manager of BRERC I read that and no further. If there was any problem -and he I assume deliberately blew a rather very brief and innocuous  email posted out of all proportion- then he should have messaged me privately, identified himself and discussed why HE found the reply so upsetting.

I need to point out that not one other person has responded to the post which says a great deal about people on social media "naturalist" groups. As I have noted before, from 1977 until semi retirement in 2018 I was on the Partners Against Wildlife Crime advisory and an exotics (and wildlife in general) consultant to UK police forces. 50 years of my adult life have been spent as a naturalist in the field as well as researcher and archivist and I am known by local authorities as an "annoying conservationist".  Despite that and my wildlife books BRERC has refused me access to badger records -which the surviving member of the old Avon Badger Group stated I had permission to ask for.

Based on their behaviour I can tell you now that BRERC will get no records from myself. It all seems to be one way with these bodies -BRERC had no interest in my Badger and Fox Deaths Registers nor the Fox Death Study and never responded to requests to submit any reports of dead foxes and badgers.

In every attempt to try to develop on badger setts in the last ten years, barring one person who I fed all the legalise to so that he could contact the developer in question, not one single person offered to assist or help in any way. 

In my work I expect the threats because I know the type of people involved, what I do not expect after 50 years is to find nasty emails/messages or plain rudeness from supposed 'naturalists'.

As I have written before, the UK is involved in a wildlife and environmental war and we lost that war due to utter indifference. This Eastville Park situation shows how less people care these days thanks to the internet wildlife "fan club" mentality.