Defra

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Wildflowers to be contaminated with banned insecticide!

We are very upset, this is an environmentally regressive decision by Defra, destroying wildflowers in the countryside…how will increased use of herbicides on field margins and hedgerows add to the onslaught being experienced by insect populations.” Said Matt Shardlow, Buglife CEO. Despite having been proven to be massively harmful to wildlife, Defra has capitulated to an NFU request to use neonicotinoid insecticides on Sugar beet seeds in 2021. Neonicotinoids are known to wash off seeds and are taken up by...

Beavers here to stay!

Wild beavers, once part of England’s rich tapestry of wildlife, had been absent in the country for around 400 years. Hunted to extinction, the animals were in demand for their meat, fur, and castoreum, which was used in medicines and perfumes.  But in 2008, wild beavers were found for the first time in England on East Devon’s River Otter. Although the origin of these animals here is unclear, they are clearly thriving, with an estimated 15 family groups colonising nearly all of the...