James Hitchcock

We need to re-set the debate on farming Speech in the Senedd on 16th July 2025 Let me start with the obvious: Farming is hard. I am proud to come from a family of farmers, and I un...

Very well said. 👏👏👏

I'd also add: food is a commodity that we pay for at point of sale. Our taxes should be spent on public benefits, delivering multiple targets and helping save money across departments.

amanwy.blogspot.com/2025/07/we-n...

Sheep are destroying precious British habitats – and we taxpayers are footing the bill | Chris Packham Large parts of Dartmoor have been denuded of wildlife, harmed by farming and a mess of government schemes that are costly in every way, says naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham

All power to @chrisgpackham.bsky.social and @wildjustice.bsky.social in pursuing this crucial case.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Pro-grouse shooting Labour MP Sam Rushworth received £10,000 donation from local grouse moor gamekeeper group Perhaps the most surprising pro-grouse shooting voice at Monday’s Westminster Hall debate on driven grouse shooting was Sam Rushworth MP, the Labour MP for Bishop Auckland. Wild Justice descr…

Oh! His support for driven grouse shooting during Monday's debate now makes a lot more sense!

FYI, @oliviablakemp.bsky.social

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/07/03/p...

Photo of Rewilding Britain's James Hitchcock and Ollie Newham in front of a stand at the Welsh Labour Party conference.

We're at the Welsh Labour Party Conference this week, complete with exhibition stand and our Rewilding Manifesto, ready to talk about what rewilding could do for nature in Wales.

If you’re attending, please make sure to stop by and say hello – we're at Stand 37 in the Atrium.

Welwn ni chi yno! 👋

Screenshot of a Guardian news story overlayed on a background photo of the sea. The news story is titled: UK MPs call for ban on bottom trawling in protected marine areas'.

We’re thrilled to see the @commonseac.parliament.uk report featured today on The Guardian, calling for urgent action to protect UK seas. It contains many bold and vital steps that we champion in our Wilder Seas report, launched yesterday in collaboration with @mcsuk.bsky.social.

1/3

Join @oceanauk.bsky.social in demanding a ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas👇
act.for-the-ocean.org/act/protect-...

Great conversations and a very inspiring site,undertaking a great mix of work, underpinned by very thorough monitoring and recording.

Fixing England’s water isn’t just the right thing to do – it can be the start of Labour’s fightback | Clive Lewis There is an appetite in this country for policy that will change lives. What is more fundamental than the water we use and bills we pay, asks Labour MP Clive Lewis

"The state of English water taps into something deep – something visceral. It has become a symbol of a rigged economy, a failed regulatory state, a political class that either can’t or won’t fix what it broke."

#rivers #blue #blueconomy #freshwater #waterislife
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

1. This is a thread about Horticultural Extrapolation. Not something you're likely to have thought about, but it's time some people did.
What is it? It's projecting the mechanics of fruit and veg growing onto the entire food system. It's surprisingly common, and frequently leads people astray. 🧵

Please sign and then pass it on! We need this debate.

Eye-opening graph. The biggest wildfire incidents in the UK don't occur when it's hottest, in high summer: they take place in April - *when landowners set fire to their grouse moors & lose control of burns.*

Time to ban moorland burning.

Source:
www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/sites/defaul...

Petition: Ban driven grouse shooting Chris Packham, Ruth Tingay and Mark Avery (Wild Justice) believe that driven grouse shooting is bad for people, the environment and wildlife. People; we think grouse shooting is economically insignifi...

If you are a UK citzen living abroad you can still sign petitions like this one. Plz have a look at this one. #australia #spain #france #usa #canada #portugal #greece #newzealand #cyprus #india #ireland #netherlands #germany #belgium #italy #greece #poland

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

Photo taken at the One Ocean Symposium of a room filled with people sat down listening to a speaker stood at the front of the room.

Wales Rewilding lead James and Marine Rewilding Lead Jacques attended the One Ocean Symposium in Rhyl yesterday and left feeling energised and excited about the large-scale coastal protection already taking place to protect marine habitats 🌊
 
🧵1/4

Some wise words from Gerald Manley Hopkins. For a fine spring day. Bees, chiffchaffs and celandines abound

YouTube video by The James Kennedy Podcast #71 - George Monbiot - How we beat The Invisible Doctrine

"We are a society of altruists governed by psychopaths"

The great @georgemonbiot.bsky.social dropping truth bombs on this weeks show. Check it out (and please subscribe) ✊️

youtu.be/l5_jS5SQfDQ?...

📢UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget puts healthy sustainable diets in the spotlight, seeking to realise the huge co-benefits of protein diversification for both climate and public health, and support ways to give plants a larger role on people’s plates.

Learn more: gfieurope.org/blog/uksseve...

I see so many posts, here and elsewhere, about how we need to reframe or rethink rewilding to make it less divisive. I disagree. Firstly any new thing will create disagreement, that’s fine. Secondly, polling suggests people love the idea. The idea it’s super divisive is largely industry narrative.

I published these 10 & 12 years ago, when it seemed that frames like ‘get rid of the green crap’ & environmental groups being lumped into an ‘anti-growth coalition’ were on their way out. Truth is though that there is no growth on a polluted & degraded planet. Perhaps I’ll write new editions.

Quite! And that's assuming he'll drop his constant overseas trips and multiple other roles.

As the article says @teamlabouruk.bsky.social in Wales must acknowledge this threat and work to see it off

Myth-busting bats, newts and the economy vs nature protections | The Wildlife Trusts There has been widespread misinformation blaming nature as a blocker to growth in the run up to the Chancellor’s speech this week, writes Joe Keegan, public affairs officer at The Wildlife Trusts.

www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/joe-kee...

Gannets underwater. Image credits: Richard Shucksmith / SCOTLAND: The Big Picture

#Rewilding is a story of hope in the face of today’s biggest global issues – from biodiversity loss to the climate crisis.
 
Learn more about rewilding and what it can do for the world 👇
https://s.mtrbio.com/cnscsmsfld 

#RewildingBritain

Very good it was too. Do 👀

#rewilding #rewildingnation

Stop Musk! This petition to prevent overseas billionaires meddling in our politics is now at *94,000* signatures - having leapt up from just 30k a day ago.

It’s *so close* now to triggering a parliamentary debate - let’s get it over the 100k mark by the end of today!

bsky.app/profile/guys...

Done. An important one.

Done. And agree.

Letter: Poor behaviour from some farmers is costing them public support This reader has called upon farmers to be better neighbours.

Letter: Farmers need to not bite the hand that feeds them

www.countytimes.co.uk/news/2488295...

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social please read this thread

232 Little Egrets roost at Penclacwydd in Sept: a Welsh record. Cattle Egrets recorded in all 14 recording areas for the first time

Clwydodd 232 o Grëyr Bach ym Mhenclacwydd - record i Gymru. Crëyr y Gwartheg ymhob ardal gofnodi

Welsh Bird Report 2023
✍🏻 @penrhynbirder.bsky.social
📸 George Rossini

‘Move closer to Europe – not Trump’ voters tell Starmer in major UK poll Pressure growing on Labour to improve trade with EU as Rachel Reeves admits Brexit damaged UK

Please do. Imagine being part of the biggest trading block in the world. Probably has loads of benefits that we could unlock!

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Andy reflects on this year's ORFC! Andy took his yearly pilgrimage to The Oxford Real Farming Conference two weeks ago and returned with a skip in his step. Launched in 2010, the ORFC attracts farmers, growers, activists, policymakers ...

"GET ON MY LAND!"

These may seem like a strange combination of words, but they're words that more and more farmers are uttering or thinking.

A lovely reflective article from Andy Bragg based on his experiences at the Oxford Real Farming Conference this year

www.westtownfarm.co.uk/post/andy-re...