Today's blog entry is quite a short one. As people will know I have been very critical of Defra's approach to this whole issue. I blogged sometime ago about their utter cluelessness in establishing the risk to horses. In essence their statistics aren't just invalid they are innumerate! They just don't have any idea how to do proper statistical evaluations.
Today however, I am blogging to say that they have excelled themselves in being incompetent. They are suggesting really strongly that our common ragwort an ecologically important native plant is a dangerous foreigner.
The Code of Practice has been withdrawn but instead of getting rid of it they have stamped every page with this text.
Just to confirm it here is an example from an almost blank page where it can be
seen most clearly.
I think that any unsophisticated reader who reads this would believe from what is being said that ragwort is not a native plant. After all if it is covered in guidance on invasive non-native species surely it is natural to think it must be one of those species? Of course it isn't!
As I have said before Defra sounds just like the Welsh word Deffra and that is a command "Wake up!" I think they should quickly!
Today however, I am blogging to say that they have excelled themselves in being incompetent. They are suggesting really strongly that our common ragwort an ecologically important native plant is a dangerous foreigner.
The Code of Practice has been withdrawn but instead of getting rid of it they have stamped every page with this text.
"This information is out of date and has been withdrawn. Updated guidance on invasive non-native plants is available on GOV.UK"
Just to confirm it here is an example from an almost blank page where it can be
seen most clearly.
I think that any unsophisticated reader who reads this would believe from what is being said that ragwort is not a native plant. After all if it is covered in guidance on invasive non-native species surely it is natural to think it must be one of those species? Of course it isn't!
As I have said before Defra sounds just like the Welsh word Deffra and that is a command "Wake up!" I think they should quickly!
