John Attrill on Wildlife

I think some of the conservationists have got it wrong in that they encourage a lot of predators. I mean, for instance, badgers … I mean I would never annihilate badgers but we would only  interfere with a badger if he interfered with us, whereas now there are so many badgers that ground nesting birds and hares and things, they’re really up against it and also everybody loves to see buzzards.

Well OK they are very fine birds flying about.

Years ago you would see one or two probably up Brighstone Forest or something and say, “Oh look, isn’t that lovely, there’s a buzzard”.

Now you look out of the kitchen window and there’s half a dozen buzzards going around and as the chap that does my spraying in the  corn said to me last year,  he said, “I was spraying, going up a track and a little hare ran out in front of me and I slowed up and I thought well he’ll turn in in a minute out of my way, but before the poor little soul turned in, down came a buzzard and zonk, and that was the end of the hare”.

So I think  by encouraging, you know what is it, red kites and buzzards and badgers and things, you’re  really putting the smaller things at a disadvantage.

In fact I don’t even think there’s a rabbit on the farm now, which I put down to buzzards and anyway, that’s my moan (laughs).