The image above and those that follow are from the beautiful setting for food and drink after a funeral we attended last week for the father of a friend, The Old Mill just outside Aldermaston. It was a powerfully moving Catholic service and although I am not religious I do rather like the High Church add-ons, like the incense thurible. They do elevate the occasion for me.
Lovely though the millstream is, the state of the water is probably not very lovely at all.
Thames Water
This appalling company now and for years run solely for filthy lucre keeps making promises but when it comes to wildlife and nature, and of course human health risks, nothing ever happens quickly enough. There are always transition periods and delays.
I came across this website which shows ongoing and recent discharges of wholly or partly untreated effluent into streams and rivers around the country.
It’s a horrifying thing to see.
According to the Environment Agency, overflows released untreated sewage for total duration of 3.6 million hours in 2023, introducing not just human effluent but microplastics and who knows what else into the ecosystem.
Of course it’s not just Thames Water who are doing it.
Looking just at those local to me, at present, there’s been an overflow discharge into Hamstead Stream, Hamstead Marshall, for 147 hours and that’s just so far. Another into the River Enbourne went on for 14 hours and another in Hungerford for 40 hours into the River Kennet which is the river which runs pas The Old Mill at Aldermaston.
I was going to write about this (yet again) anyway but it’s also front page news in our local paper. Some people are very snooty about and dismissive of local papers but I love ours, The Newbury Weekly News and also our parish newsletter, The Fisherman, both being important local resources bringing communities together.
The NWN reports that the environmental group River Action has found E.coli levels in the Kennet at almost three times the level above which water is considered unsafe for swimming and that’s from ‘treated’ effluent. The treatment works at Thatcham has released almost 4,000 hours of wholly or partly untreated sewage over the last five years.
How is any of this not a national emergency? Legal complaints have been co-ordinated which should trigger investigation by local authorities who can then enforce abatement and take enforcement action.
Then there’s a load of guff from Thames Water about commitments and promises including a spend of £9.5bn over the next five years. I’ll believe it when I see it and they could start by reclaiming all the executive bonuses and dividends paid out for the operation of what has been illegal activity.
There is an extraordinary addendum from TW: “Farming, industry, road runoff, wildlife, and, increasingly extreme weather also play a role in river health.” That is of course mostly true but why have they lumped wildlife in with the rest? What on earth do they mean?
Open Cages
This wonderful organisation does what it says on the tin and they announced a ban on fur farming in Poland after a landslide vote. This is seriously good news but, as above, not quick enough – it will only be fully implemented by 2033. That’s a lot of appalling suffering in the interim.
Also, from the RSPCA, “last June, DEFRA finally responded to the consultation for mandatory food labelling, and the results were clear. With 99% of individuals and 69% of organisations in support, it’s time for the UK Government to turn words into action for farmed animals.” It’s all very well for farmers to blame consumers for wanting cheap produce but we are not given a choice and know now that the Red Tractor and RSPCA (!) labelling schemes are meaning less shams.
Foxhunting
The Hunt Saboteurs Association report on illegal fox hunting by the Vale of Taunton and Banwell Harriers, their activities recorded by drone camera as was the hunting and killing of a fox by the Coniston Hounds, reported here:
Bulls, foxes, auks – Animal Wild
The more recent incident was on November 27th and the actual (not trail) hunting is totally blatant. On this occasion the poor, terrified creature managed to get away, but only just.
Protect the Wild reports hunt trespasses, including the chasing of a fox through a graveyard, and causing havoc on roads, gardens and working farms. More callously and disrespectfully yet, the Mid-Devon Hunt repeatedly brought their pack through a Forest School for children with complex needs and learning disabilities. “The Beaufort Hunt was caught on camera killing a fox close to the grounds of Gloucestershire’s Westonbirt School, later that week they hunted a fox through a children’s nursery too.” As often the body of another fox was hastily stuffed into a bin bag.
Rachel Reeves
A most interesting petition from Change.org, a valiant attempt to hold government accountable:
“As a UK taxpayer, I am deeply concerned about the recent actions of Chancellor Rachel Reeves. It is imperative that she is accountable to the UK people for her conduct and the decisions she makes regarding our finances. Along with every other taxpayer in the UK, I expect transparency, honesty, and integrity from our elected officials.
Recent reports suggest that Chancellor Reeves may have misled the public about the state of the UK’s finances. It has come to light that she publicly portrayed a grim financial outlook, claiming that the UK finances were in a ‘negative’ state. This portrayal was used to justify imposing stringent financial measures on taxpayers from 2025 onwards. However, it is alleged that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had informed her that the real financial situation was not as dire as she depicted.
This inconsistency raises serious questions about whether her actions were deliberately deceitful or simply misinformed. The potential for misrepresentation of facts at such a high level has significant implications for every UK citizen, as financial policies affect our daily lives, our businesses, and our future.
The UK deserves to know the truth. It is unacceptable for any government official to act in a manner that could potentially mislead the public to impose unnecessary financial burdens. Therefore, I urge the relevant authorities to launch an independent investigation into Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ actions to determine if she acted with dishonesty or if there were other motives at play.
This investigation must be thorough, transparent, and free from political interference. Only through an independent inquiry can we restore public trust and ensure that our leaders are held to the highest standards of accountability.
Please join me in calling for this critical investigation by signing this petition. Let’s work together to demand truth and integrity in our government’s financial decisions.”
As I write the number of signatures is heading fast for 40,000.
As American economist Thomas Sowell said: “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” Or lying.
Nothing to do with the other pictures, just the moon and clouds being very moody and dramatic the other night.
Back to wildlife
The Guga hunt petition now has over 17,000 signatures. See They steal baby Gannets and eat them, don’t they? – Animal Wild
Plate from John Gould’s magnificent The Birds of Great Britain.
Protect the Wild reports the shooting of a Peregrine Falcon in the Peak District National Park. Signs are that he or she will survive with care and treatment. But as they say “the entire area is riddled with shoots and is renowned for raptor persecution – but not for anyone ever being held account for it.”
The RSPB is getting hot under the collar too:
“If this wasn’t bad enough [the abandonment of safeguards in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill], on Monday the Prime Minister signalled a fresh assault on nature. He said that nature’s most important protections should not apply to any developments under the UK’s industrial strategy. This could include new power stations, data centres, and new factories. The impact on some of our most precious species and the places they live could be catastrophic.”
Nature’s being silenced. It’s time to speak up
Photo taken in Kenya, 2019.
Elephants
In much need of cheering up yesterday I watched all of the videos below. They are very good for the soul. The heroes are, in particular, Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, founder of an elephant sanctuary near Chang Mai in Thailand and others elsewhere. She is an inspiring and very brave person, but she doesn’t need to be brave with the elephants, she gains their trust. They protect her and love and respect her as deeply as she loves and respects them. Of course they know whether someone is out to harm them. How they trust anyone at all after all the abuse they have been through is a wonder. The excitement amongst the other elephants on the arrival of Dok Koon is a marvel to behold.
(4532) Elephant Rescue: Welcome Home, Dok Koon! – ElephantNews – YouTube
Herd Exciting On Arrival Of New Rescue Elephant “Dok Koon” – ElephantNews
Unbreakable Bond: One Woman’s Connection To Ancient Elephants
THULA THULA elephant whisperer video
The Elephants Who Walked Miles Together For One Man!
She Took Over After The Elephant Whisperer Died – And Changed Everything
The other heroes are the late Lawrence Anthony, the Elephant Whisperer, and his widow Françoise Maltby-Anthony who took over the Thula Thula reserve after her husband’s death. I wrote about him and his amazing book in Animal Trust:
Lawrence Anthony’s book, The Elephant Whisperer, is my best-loved book about animals and has been a parting gift on several occasions when staff have left Trindledown [the rescue centre where I used to volunteer].
Shortly after Lawrence Anthony’s sudden death from a heart attack, two separate groups of wild elephants he had known, who it is safe to assume had not heard the news on the radio or read it in a newspaper, travelled for miles from different parts of the park, came to the house (itself an unusual event, although they had sometimes ventured so close when they had a new calf to proudly show off), stood vigil, and mourned, for two days. They returned again exactly one year later.
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