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Farming Today: 17/02/22 The row in Dorset about farmers, eagles and policing

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17/02/22 The row in Dorset about farmers, eagles and policing

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 17/02/22 The row in Dorset about farmers, eagles and policing

Following the deaths of two sea eagles, MP Chris Loder says they are not welcome in Dorset

Following the deaths of two white tailed sea eagles, MP Chris Loder says that Dorset is ‘not the place’ to reintroduce eagles.

The unexplained deaths of two young sea eagles, released as part of a programme to reintroduce the UK’s largest bird of prey to the south of England, are being investigated by police in Dorset. Sea eagles became extinct in England in the 1800s and in Scotland in 1918 as a result of persecution and habitat change but they’ve been successfully reintroduced over the last thirty years, first in Scotland and since 2019 on the Isle of Wight in a five year programme that’s seen more than 20 released so far.  Shortly after the deaths of these two birds, and the investigation, were announced the Dorset West MP Chris Loder angered conservationists by stating on social media that Dorset is 'not the place' to reintroduce eagles and that he’d prefer police time and resources to be prioritised elsewhere. It’s a row that’s still rumbling on. We speak to Chris Loder on why he doesn't want to see sea eagles in Dorset.

We’re talking about rare breeds on the programme all this week, and that’s what you’ll find if you take a half term visit to the Dyfed Shire Horse Farm in Pembrokeshire. The Shire horse itself now carries that label but the farm keeps other rare breeds too,  including one of Wales’ most treasured when it comes to sheep: the Balwen.

We hear from former Irish rugby union footballer who farms 1200 acres of arable in the drumlin countryside of County Armagh, Northern Ireland. 

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

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