When we protect wildlife we have to take decisions

EFFORTS to protect the dwindling numbers of peregrine falcons have been one of the great success stories of conservation in this country. Since the population crashed in the 1960s efforts to protect falcons have seen these magnificent creatures once again gracing the skies of Devon and they can even be found perching atop of the Tate Modern in London.

However, not everyone is happy to see the return of this formidable hunter. Pigeon fanciers across Britain have seen an increasing number of raptor strikes on their prize racing pigeons and some are calling on the Government for action to be taken; namely the removal of protected status for peregrine falcons.

As a farmer I know what it's like to lose an animal. That sickening feeling you get in your stomach when one of your stock that you have spent years vaccinating, feeding and nurturing is found cold and lifeless. There is a tremendous feeling of loss.

Several years ago, during the floods that hit Bridgwater, I lost almost my entire flock of sheep.

They were trapped in a field when the water levels began to rise. Many of them drowned and the rest were only saved by being winched out by a rescue helicopter.

You also reach a certain age when you start to feel that you have more in common with the pigeon rather than the sleek, predatory falcon.

All things considered I do not think we should be so hasty in calling for a reduction in numbers of a bird only just brought back from the brink of extinction.

Only last week a man was caught trying to smuggle falcon eggs out of the country to the Middle-East, where the birds are highly prized as pets and used for sport hunting by wealthy Arab emirs.

In our efforts to control our environment, acquire resources and to make our lives more manageable we have destroyed much verdant habitat for wildlife and driven some species to extinction.

When an animal becomes a competitor for a resource they are driven away. I suppose this is the price of progress but in some ways the world is a poorer place for it.

Protecting wildlife sometimes means not getting our way all of the time.