The Field June 2023

THE DUMPING of untreated sewage, the taking of unsustainable amounts of drinking water and intensive farming are ruining our rivers. Wild fish and their habitats require clean water and lots of it, but the damage water companies and some farmers cause puts our own vital and multidimensional relationship with water in deep jeopardy. The faults are not the farmers’ or the water companies’ alone. The Government and its regulators, Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA), are as much to blame. All must play a part in finding the solutions. The essential problem, though, is a lack of investment. Two things are needed immediately to trigger investment: transparency and enforcement. Transparency allows us to see the extent of the mess; assess investment requirements for farming, sewage and water supply; hold regulators…

TO CONTACT THE NEWS DESK MESSAGE US VIA OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS OR SEND AN EMAIL TO CARLA.PASSINO@FUTURENET.COM EDWARD.WILLS@FUTURENET.COM Field follies ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOW WON’T BE GOING VEGAN The organisers of the Royal Highland Show have rejected suggestions by animal rights group PETA that the show should become a vegan event. The activists had called for an end to what it labelled “outdated cow parades, cruel sheep shearing and food that has been cut or expelled from an animal’s body”, demanding the event be rebranded as the “Royal Highland Grow”. However, the show’s organisers said they disagreed with PETA’s “misrepresentation” of the event. UK’S FRIENDLIEST TOWN Kirkwall, the largest town in Orkney, is the most welcoming place in Britain, according to a recent study carried out by booking.com. Most residents leave…

SUMMER 2022 HEATWAVE IMPACT ON UK BUTTERFLIES The heatwave experienced across much of the UK in the summer of 2022 has had a worrying impact on butterfly species such as the green-veined white and peacock, according to new data. The hot, dry weather killed off many plants that species rely upon, resulting in fewer places for female butterflies to lay their eggs and insufficient food for the caterpillars when they hatched. BLIND ADVENTURER BECOMES PRESIDENT OF THE RAMBLERS A blind walker has been appointed as president of the Ramblers. Amar Latif, known as the Blind Adventurer, wants to use his experience of walking with 95% vision loss to inspire people to push their own boundaries and get out walking in nature. WILTSHIRE POLICE HIT BY DISCRIMINATION ACCUSATION Campaigners have accused…

1-3 Royal Bath & West Show Shepton Mallet, Somerset Tel: 01749 822200 bathandwest.com 2-3 The Derby Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey Tel: 0344 579 3019 thejockeyclub.co.uk 6-11 Bramham Horse Trials Wetherby, West Yorkshire Tel: 01937 846005 bramham-horse.co.uk 9-11 Chestertons Polo in the Park Hurlingham Park, Fulham, London Tel: 020 8614 7090 polointheparklondon.com 9-11 South of England Show Ardingly, West Sussex Tel: 01444 892700 seas.org.uk 9-25 Aldeburgh Festival Snape, Suffolk Tel: 01728 687110 brittenpearsarts.org 17 Trooping the Colour Horse Guards Parade, London householddivision.org.uk 18 Queen’s Cup Final Guards Polo Club, Berkshire Tel: 01784 434212 guardspoloclub.com 19-25 cinch Championships The Queen’s Club, London Tel: 0344 581 0825 lta.org.uk 20-21 Royal Cheshire County Show County Showground, Tabley Tel: 01565 650200 royalcheshireshow.org 20-24 Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire Tel: 0344 346 3000 ascot.com 22-25…

The scale of dog thefts in the UK has reached alarming levels, new research from Direct Line Pet Insurance (DLPI) has revealed. Last year 2,160 cases were reported – averaging six dogs stolen each day – but the real number of dog thefts could be higher as only one incident is raised whenever dogs are stolen, regardless of how many are taken. American bulldogs were the breed most often taken illegally, followed by Staffordshire bull terriers and French bulldogs. As things stand, dog theft remains a crime with high potential gain and low risk, as the theft of a pet is taken as seriously as the theft of a possession such as a laptop; in the few cases that are prosecuted, the punishment rarely fits the crime. The Kept Animals…

Flower: Rose, honeysuckle Strawberry Moon: 4 June Harvest: Peas, new potatoes June was most likely named after the Roman goddess Juno, but another interpretation says that the name came from the Latin juvenis, or ‘young people’, who were celebrated at this time. MIDSUMMER ROSES Roses are of special importance at this time of the year. It is said that any rose picked on Midsummer’s Eve or Midsummer’s Day will keep fresh until Christmas. At midnight on Midsummer’s Eve, young girls used to scatter rose petals before them and say: ‘Rose leaves, rose leaves,Rose leaves I strew.He that will love meCome after me now.’ Then on Midsummer’s Day, their true love would supposedly visit them. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “If you give a man a fish, he is hungry again in…