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Farming Today: 16/03/2012

16/03/2012

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 16/03/2012

Troublesome beavers - how escaped animals are causing problems for Scottish farmers.

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Charlotte Smith hears the problems caused by wild beavers, and what the Scottish Government plans to do about it.

Farmers in Scotland say wild beavers are damaging their land and could cause flooding. It is estimated that a hundred beavers which escaped from private collections are building lodges in waterways. Stewart Stevenson, the Environment Minister for the Scottish Government, announces that they have decided to monitor the Tayside wild beaver population - rather than trap them or have a cull. Drew McFarlane-Slack from Scottish Land and Estates outlines the problems that these animals cause.

Tom Heap hears the debate over whether to extract peat from Chatmoss near Salford. There is currently a public inquiry over the decision, and campaigners say that this is a test case.

And with Mothering Sunday only a couple of days away Charlotte Smith visits New Covent Garden Market to hear about the benefits of a British bouquet.

Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Emma Weatherill.

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