|
The theft of Cornish culture |
|
|
|
|
Page 5 of 7
It has now been decide to phase out the environmentally sensitive areas, and replace them with something called the HEATH Project. The vast majority of the farmers who benefitted from environmentally sensitive area subsidies and grants will lose out entirely, because Natural ‘England’ has selected a mere few to participate in this new and ill-advised scheme. Not only that, but the introduction of cattle – including the likelihood of bulls - into open right–to-roam areas will add a very real hazard to ramblers, horse-riders and dog walkers who, for decades beyond recall, have roamed these open moorland areas without any such hindrance or hazard. Add to this the introduction of alien fences, gates and horrendously noisy cattle-grids and we begin to see what appears to be an attempt to enclose and impose state control over open (and privately owned) land.
The intention of this project is to intensively graze the moors, changing forever its familiar and hugely varied appearance and habitats, reducing it to a dull area of uniform heathland (or that is their plan). This policy will evict the current wild life population and replace it with another. What is ‘natural’ about that? Natural England’s argument is that the moor is trying to revert to scrub and woodland, regardless of the fact that, since traditonal grazing ceased 150 years ago, this has not happened. The moor has ‘managed’ itself, without human interference, into the wonderful and uniquely wild landscape loved by millions. Summer grazing, for two or three months of the year did once take place on the Penwith Moors, but this was far less intensive, involved the presence of herdsmen, and did not require fencing and enclosure. The practice ceased because it was of little benefit to farming and, had this opinion altered, then farmers would have reintroduced it themselves, without being prompted to do so by an external agency.
|
