Hands Off Hartlebury Common

Steve McCarron

/ #486 spraying

2011-07-04 15:06

The common is being sprayed with Asulox. A herbicide that was banned in europe, or at least an attempt to ban it was made by Spain, France, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ireland. In this country our desire for an helicoptor sprayable herbicide to address the way we wanted to expand our subsidey in the scottish highlands and other places. Has meant we opposed a ban
http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=14383.0

“While the UK Government has temporarily halted proceedings, the battle is far from won. We must keep up the pressure so that the Commission drops this plan for good.”
Alyn Smith, a member of the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, said: “Despite some of the rhetoric we have seen in the last few weeks, the decision confirmed my belief that the Commission has more common sense than we give it credit for. It was always likely to take a reasoned and proportionate position which took into account the science, the commercial and the environmental situation.”.
He said the decision reflected the fact that while the scientific risk assessment for Asulam does reveal ‘major environmental concerns’ with regards to its effect on birds and non-target terrestrial plants, ‘the commercial reality is that we need more time to fully develop alternatives for bracken control’.

Bracken has been one of the few success stories at hartlebury common (apart from erosion), hence the spraying. They are using a chemical that is only available because of the aforementioned needs for agricultural subsidy and shooting.

No mention of this on the councils misinformation boards, they just talk of traditional methods of management, with ethnically diverse non gender specific happy operatives.

READ THIS http://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/pdf/Bracken.pdf

Steve McCarron