Wild Summit 2026 -I was Not Impressed

 

I need to apologise to Bristol Fox Lady/Bristol Wildlife Rescue Sarah Millsfor dragging her to the so called Wild Summit. I printed out a small fortune (in ink) flyers and info packs to hand out.

Avon Wildlife Trust ("We work through Bristol City Council") were not interested in the fox and badger data. In fact, no one was interested in mammals whether otters, badgers, foxes (plenty of fox photos used though) or even hedgehogs. Bees, butterflies, wild flowers, water purity and conservation nd that was it.

Fella from the Badger Trust talking about setting up a Bristol Badger Group (8 times right next to me) so I jumped in every time and pointed out that I have run BBG since 1994/1995 but he kept it up and told me to my face he had heard of my fox work but not badger work. How good is the Badger Trust when they have had emails etc off me for 30 years and been told repeatedly over the last year there was a BBG? Kept trying to talk over me every time I was amking points based on years of research and work. Nope. Well not be cooperating wityh him or BT.

So making the countryside wild friendly but no one interested in wildlife crossings/tunnels.

Basically it was badly organised and had I paid £240 for a ticket there would have been trouble.

Oh West England .Wildlife Index was not that good. Their data was a mess they noted bird decline (mentioned 8 times as frightening) no idea about mammal decline or fish decline and then they told us how their data was basically not worth much as it needed another 5 years. I think Sarah probably heard my loud grunt as the woman in charge stated "We get data from naturalists but take it with a grain of salt" Talk about insulting the dying breed of people who go out getting the real data and muddied boots. I stopped myself from standing and walking out. I did feel sorry for one of the volunteers who stepped up to exp-lain the work she had been doing but got four heckles of "stand closer to the microphone" and she was nervous enough.

The RSPCA Senior scientific advisor stodd up and I just waited for her to say the great job the RSPCA does for wildlife but in the few minutes she spoke all I learnt was her field of work was tigers. Yes, foxes and badgers and British wildlife are silly so concentrate on ovrseas wildlife (which I am told the RSPCA is doing?!)

The ex copper who said we need better organisation, etc and some forces had no wildlife crime officer well...back into the early 2000s there were plenty of good PWLOs and senior officers were involved. Now we have a situations wth four wildlife crimes in the Bristol area (including a snared otter) and a fox torn up by a dog under the command of its owner and....nothing. We had three foxes found in one day on an allotment and the Wildlife officer visited the site and made notes and was offered the foxes to take (THAT should be standard) but he would not even go and look at the foxes and his notes ("intelligence") was it. THREE suspicious death foxes and the copper would not even look at them. Interestingly a PCSO did a better job and bagged up two foxes and a cat in a suspicious death case and submitted them for post mortems. Obviously the part time policeman had a better grasp of the job than the full time professional.

At times with 'quizzes", stickers, big sheets of paper and colour pens I felt I was back at Glenfrome Road nursery school.

Radio talks the event up well but there was NOTHING to the event just "We need to jolly well show the government by sending in a petition".

I do not likke rudeness or bad manners but that was also very evident at the event.

Basically an online petition appears to have been what was needed for most talks. That a great deal of the information was old -I have sources saying the same f thing from the 1980s and that was built on from 1970s work,

Field or any type of naturalist did not seem to be present. After a remark that anything from a naturalist was taken "with a pinch of salt" that was lucky.

I left thinking that I had lost two hours or so of my rapidly decling life anjd that working by myself seems the best way to go.

I was lucky that Sarah Mills was present as even she commented "Nothing on mammals? Not even hedgehogs!"

Maybe I should have had a table there to push mammals?