‘extraordinarily barren environment’ . . .

. . . or the kind of landscape of Cumbria that is known and loved by everyone?

It would really be impossible, in the context of a blip, to outline George Monbiot’s views on rewilding, as laid out in his book ‘Feral’ and in the talk I listened to yesterday. Suffice to say that he believes our hillsides, such as in the Lake District, to be barren wastelands devoid of life and the main reason for this being . . . sheep. He advocates rewilding areas of the hillsides to bring them back to life and return some of the wonder that we have lost. Ceridwen referred to this in a blip last year and has explained it better than I can.

His ideas are controversial, but can be very persuasive. I am not arguing here one way or another, but what does make me sad is when people are not prepared to listen to others, preferring instead to be fed headlines and refusing to listen any more.

At the talk yesterday the place was full and everyone listened. That not everyone agreed with the ideas put forward was obvious by the kind of questions that were asked and clarifications requested. A very different story when he agreed to talk to a meeting of Cumbrian hill farmers a few days earlier. He was met by a stony silence and some swore and walked out. (‘not my best gig’ he told us!).

Of course, when people feel that generations of rural practices and their own livelihoods are at stake, they are bound to be very concerned indeed. But what I think is a pity is that there are people who are not prepared to listen and enter into any kind of discussion. They are willing to be told a few things, out of context, and then put up a stone wall against all discussion.

There are flaws in Monbiot’s arguments, some of his ideas are fanciful to say the least and he can definitely be described as an idealist rather than a realist. He does not give enough credit for environmental work that is already being done by many farmers. But his ideas are just that - ideas. They are not all going to be put into practice, but we need such passion and idealism, backed with knowledge and understanding, in some people, when our own politicians seem lacking in those very things. Our own MP’s words: ‘small family sheep farms are our last fragile link to a past that we love’ describes a more romantic notion than any that Monbiot puts forward.

Does he hate sheep? Yes, but only because of what they do to the environment.
Does he think all sheep farms should disappear? Definitely not.

Just one thought - I have walked in hillsides in New Zealand and in Canada and have found it far more interesting walking through real forests teeming with wildlife than it is slogging up our ‘barren’ hills, where nothing grows because the sheep eat everything.

For anyone wanting to know more about Monbiot’s ideas around Rewilding you could look here, or better still read the book and make up your own minds.