Jersey reservoir reopens after rat infestation dealt with
Facilities manager Terry Gasnier said people should avoid feeding the birds and other wildlife at the reservoir."We know how much Queen's Valley means to the community, and we are pleased to be in a position to reopen it once again for everyone to enjoy," he said."It's certainly been a challenge for us because of the constant feeding, but we don't want the actions of a few to keep spoiling others' enjoyment of the space."We absolutely want to keep the reservoir open to the public but we will only be able to keep the pest population under constant control if visitors stop feeding the wildlife."
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Homelessness 'not just men with dogs in doorways', says charity
A Guernsey charity is challenging people's preconceptions of homelessness, after a rough sleeper's story brought the issue to islanders' Home in Guernsey was set up last year to help people facing homelessness on the Cox, CEO, said: "Historically [charities] would put up a picture of a single gentleman, often with a dog and a sleeping bag on the street."However Ms Cox said she was "aware of families with their children" sofa surfing, as well as people sleeping in their cars, adding "just because when we walk through St. Peter Port we're not stumbling across sleeping bags" it did not mean hidden homelessness was not impacting the island. Ms Cox said 29-year-old Tian, who had slept at the Bathing Pools and in a tent, was "not going to be the only" person sleeping rough and there would "be other people in the future", as long as the island's housing crisis Steve Williams, president of Housing, previously told the BBC he recognised the island had a "hidden homelessness" problem and needed to "do something about it". 'Dignity and respect' Ms Cox said more than 25 new people facing or experiencing homelessness had contacted the charity to ask for help during June said "everyone wants dignity and deserves respect in the place that they want to call home".However, even in the "most welcoming" situation, sofa surfers were "still [in] someone else's house" and it was "their routine you're fitting in to"."It's not a very good situation to be in," she added. Ms Cox said there was some emergency housing on the island, such as St. Julian's House, but it was often said the charity was working with Housing to co-produce a Homelessness Delivery and Implementation Plan, so there was a consistent "pathway" for people to avoid or get out of homelessness."It's not an overnight fix - what we want to see is investment in lots of different areas," she said it was "really great in the short time" the charity had existed, that it had "made waves" and helped create positive steps forward. Spare rooms Ms Cox said she was also keen to encourage people to take advantage of a £10,000 tax break for people renting out spare rooms to said At Home in Guernsey could help by vetting both the lodger and the home owner if they wanted to rent out spare rooms."It just adds a bit of security", she said, "if people are sitting at home with a spare bedroom thinking: 'I would like to rent it out, but what if this goes wrong?'."People with spare rooms could take money or a non-financial exchange, such as company, "a bit of care [or] help with the garden," she said.
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Dalnacardoch: The 18,500-acre Scottish Highlands estate ending paid deer stalking
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A former shooting estate Scotland, leased by a conservation charity, will no longer host paid deer stalking by the end of the year. Dalnacardoch Estate, in the edges of the Cairngorms National Park in Perthshire, confirmed the sport will end at the end of this year's season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, set up by renowned author and conservationist Gerald Durrell in 1959, secured the lease from the family who own the 18,500-acre estate in 2023. Follow Hay's Way updates via Katharine's Instagram page and by signing up to her free Scotsman Rural newsletter here. Dalnacardoch Estate was leased to the Durrell charity in 2023 | Katharine Hay It is the first estate the Jersey-based charity manages in Scotland among its international portfolio. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the time of securing Dalnacardoch, the charity said it intended to manage a transition away from historic sport use to a "diversified range of activities". Durrell's former chief executive Dr Lesley Dickie, who has now been replaced by Rebecca Brewer, said some of the immediate tasks included engaging with neighbouring estates, planning native woodland restoration, controlling deer numbers, and thinning out non-native Sitka spruce plantations on the estate. The charity said it was due to end paid-for deer stalking by the end of the season, which runs until spring 2026, but has decided to bring the date forward. The activity will now stop in late October. Durrell confirmed it has 30 bookings for deer stalking, with the last on October 20. It said deer numbers would then be managed by staff from November. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On the charity's website, the team said: "When populations become unnaturally high, excessive grazing suppresses plant growth, prevents natural regeneration, and disrupts eco-system balance. Dalnacardoch is a 18,500-acre former shooting estate in Perthshire. | Katharine Hay "At Dalnacardoch, we practice responsible deer management, reducing grazing pressure, to support the regeneration of healthy eco-systems and encourage the natural regeneration of missing native woodlands." The charity had been criticised by animal rights groups, who claimed it was unacceptable the organisation continued to financially benefit from deer stalking for pleasure. Dalnacardoch sits next to Atholl Estate, a traditional shooting estate that includes deer stalking. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A small bothy, Allt Scheicheachan, on Atholl estate land near Dalnacardoch estate | Katharine Hay The location also neighbours Gaick Estate, owned by Anders Povlsen, Scotland's largest landowner, where he has heavily managed and reduced deer numbers for rewilding initiatives. A spokesperson for Durrell said: "Our plan since taking on the lease in 2023 has always been to transition away from commercial stalking, which is something that we have openly communicated. Part of Gaick Estate, owned by Anders Holch Povlsen | Katharine Hay 'Earlier this year, we confirmed that this will be our last season of commercial stalking. While the season technically runs until spring 2026, we were already working towards ending this activity by autumn 2025, albeit we didn't have a final date confirmed at that time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our last booking is now confirmed as 20th October 2025 and from November 2025, we will manage deer exclusively via our own team." When acquiring the land, the charity, which works within the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), said it intended on using hands-on species management and habitat restoration techniques to revive what it described as an 'out-of-whack eco-system' across the estate. Durrell's chief scientist professor Carl Jones said at the time that captive management was one method used in a range of other techniques to restore wildlife in the area depending on the species and how the landscape develops overtime.
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
British butterfly species facing extinction
Butterfly numbers have plunged by nearly a fifth in the past 50 years, official figures show. The population of the heath fritillary has fallen by 89 per cent since 1976, statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reveal. Other species including including wood white, small-bordered fritillary, grayling and pearl-bordered fritillary have seen declines of 70 per cent to 80 per cent. The figures show that abundance across all species has declined 18 per cent in the UK, and 19 per cent in England, over the long term. Experts blamed the destruction of butterfly habitats for the drop in numbers. Many butterfly species have not recovered from declines experienced in the late 1970s caused by the knock-on effects of the drought conditions in 1976. However, a lack of suitable habitat in the decades that followed has contributed to the persistent decline ever since. Butterflies found on farmland have declined by around a third in both the UK and England, with those that require the specific habitat to thrive seeing falls in abundance of 42 per cent in the UK and 47 per cent in England. Woodland butterflies have fared even worse with declines of more than half (54 per cent) since the 1970s when monitoring began, with woodland specialist species declining by 55 per cent in the UK and 57 per cent in England. Across the 50 species monitored across the UK, 44 per cent have suffered declines since 1976, while 47 per cent of the 49 species assessed in England have seen drops since then.
