Says Bob Milton

Do not believe it.

When BBOWT get in the first thing they will do is apply for HLS and we will start all over again.

VIRTUAL FENCING. The next fight

Says Mark Saunders

I was of the view that we were winning slowly. The half halt on the fencing at Padworth and Chorleywood, and what appeared to be a slowdown in applications was hiding the new reality. VIRTUAL FENCING!!

I am cross with myself for taking my eye off this particular ball.

Google Burnham Beeches Cattle, and you will see its here and working. I have spoken to the head Ranger, and found that the cattle used have adapted to it with ease.

I am sure many of you would have heard me saying that the opposition has to be won on the Conservation issues, and as Mark Fisher has been stating.

The next episode starts here!

Details of Burnham Common and their Fenceless Fences project

Says Mark Fisher

Virtual fencing will be trialled at Epping Forest, in conjunction with cattle grids, under a commercial contract for conservation grazing that has no involvement of any commoners

Says Mark Fisher

Well done for bringing this up.

Virtual fencing will be trialled at Epping Forest, in conjunction with cattle grids, under a commercial contract for conservation grazing that has no involvemnt of any commoners. The City of London, as owners of Epping Forest, are the recipient of a massive HLS for grazing. They have already put up miles of linear fencing, without seeking any permission.

From the Transport Strategy update document that was used to justify the cattle grids:

"The „Bovigard‟® system transmits a localised radio signal from a continuous buried wire marking the boundary of a specified grazing area. Collars worn by cattle are activated by proximity to the boundary signal and administer audible stimuli and warning shocks to electronically "heft‟ the animals within the area specified by the wire."
www.engageessex.org.uk/essex/UploadedFiles/CoL-ECC12_FTS_EFCC.pdf

More technical info., description and a costing is given in Additional Information provided with the tender for the conservation grazing contract for Epping Forest:

The Friends of Epping Forest have challenged all the proposals for re-instatement of grazing for 10 years or so, objecting to what they think is the ecological fallacy behind them, particularly the nonsense of open woodpasture (a savanah landscape - pace Frans Vera) being the natural state of the forest. They made a statement of case at the PI on the cattle grids.

This from the Summer 2012 newsletter: "Naturally the Friends were disappointed, though not surprised, by the Inspector’s recommendation, now accepted by the Secretary of State, that consent be given to the installation of cattle grids and associated by-passes in Epping Forest.....It is perhaps understandable that the Inspector did not want to get involved in a debate about grazing, the scale, its impact and sustainability, which were the focus of our statement. We look with concern at the large scale clearance [of trees] that the Conservators are undertaking and propose to continue. With this in mind, we welcome the undertaking given by the Conservators at the Inquiry that open wood pasture is not proposed for Epping Forest" www.friendsofeppingforest.org.uk/pdfsummer12.pdf

Of course the Inspector did not want to get involved in a debate about the grazing, as he just accepted what the Conservators and Natural England said about it, even though other evidence was put in front of him! Sound familiar?