Recognising the true conservationists

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Tim Bonner writes: It was World Wetlands Day on Tuesday which is a good opportunity to remind people of the enormous amount of work done by wildfowling clubs and private landowners with a shooting interest to preserve wetland habitats. Lots of that work is recorded on our new Twitter feed 'Shooters of the UK' (@CA_Shooting) which we have set up to to broadcast the good work undertaken by the shooting community across the country.

The practical work of dedicated conservationists, whether from the shooting world or from groups like the RSPB or Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (which was of course founded by a dedicated wildfowler, Sir Peter Scott), is in stark contrast to the noisy and illogical approach of animal rights groups. The fact that such organisations long ago forfeited any right to engage in discussions about conservation is a recurring theme, but I was particularly taken by a letter in the latest magazine of the brilliant North American wildfowl conservation group Ducks Unlimited (DU), which dealt with the contrast between those who do, and those who merely stand around telling other people what they should not be doing.

The letter, from Ducks Unlimited can be read in full here but I'm sure DU will not object to me reproducing part of it:

"Unfortunately, the tremendous contribution made by sportsmen and women toward the restoration and conservation of our wildlife resources remains largely unknown to the general public. This situation is exacerbated by the media's broad use of the term "conservationist." Many members of the media are unable to distinguish between individuals and organizations that financially support wildlife conservation and those that don't. The latter include animal rights and anti-hunting organizations, whose funding is spent primarily on litigating resource management decisions and promoting a preservationist "don't touch" philosophy in wildlife management."

This conundrum is just as applicable, probably more so, on this side of the Atlantic and the Countryside Alliance exists to on the one hand to promote the positive conservation contribution of shooting and other rural activities, whilst on the other exposing the cant and hypocrisy of those who do nothing for the countryside but are desperately keen to tell us how to live our lives.

Follow Tim on Twitter @CA_TimB.