Sir, – I have been farming for 40 years. In the last decade, I have seen the wholesale destruction of our hedgerows in the insatiable desire for more dairy and grain land.
While we pay lip service to the idea of being guardians of the countryside, we continue to lay waste to one of the most successful methods of saving carbon and providing a habitat for the insects, animals and birds that we share this land with.
I note with sadness that the Department of Agriculture has chosen not to mention hedgerows in its upcoming incentivised environmental scheme and instead chooses to pursue a “zero tolerance” policy overseen by a handful of well-meaning but utterly overworked rangers in the National Parks and Wildlife Service. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL
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HICKEY,
Cashel,
Co Tipperary.