Chris Packham has tough message for NI farming ahead of Belfast show

Shauna Corr
·6-min read
Chris Packham in grey jacket and grey shirt and tie
-Credit: (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)


Chris Packham has hit out at the influence “greedy people” and their lobbyists have on politicians ahead of an event in Belfast today (THURS).

The famous environmentalist says while Northern Ireland has “some very beautiful places” the expansion of meat and dairy in the past 20 years has been its “biggest driver of biodiversity loss”. And he warns “if we don’t preserve life, we won’t live. It’s that simple”.

“People forget everything they eat is produced by ecosystem services Earth - it comes out of the ground, that soil which is living, or it’s harvested from the sea. We are a part of nature.

READ MORE: Agriculture 'making unsustainable demands on NI environment' says watchdog

READ MORE: NI farmed chickens and pigs producing nearly 1 million tonnes of excrement

“What we know at the moment is that we are denuding nature at such a rapid rate that it will begin to fail, [and] just like climate, we’ll push it beyond tipping points - and some of those tipping points are being breached.”

Packham, 63, says he has been visting NI since the 1980s and really likes it.

He told Belfast Live he loves Rathlin Island and even took in Lough Neagh “which has now got problems”, in the 90s to see its wintering whooper swans. While he described those visits as “phenomenal”, the Wild Justice co-director, whose not-for-profit legal campaign group took Stormont to court over its badger cull plans and won, says everything is “going in the wrong direction at exactly the wrong time” with biodiversity loss. He adds that “we’re really running out of time” to turn things around.

But with the right political pressure, education and “working hand in hand with” farmers, fishers, foresters and even builders, Packham says we could “have a secure future”.

He added: “That means some stiff conversations with them - because at the moment they are riding roughshod over policies which we need to implement to get that security for life. Animal agricultre is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss and that’s the case in Northern Ireland and all over the world.

“It’s the expansion of meat and dairy in the last 20 years that’s driving the most significant changes. This is coming at a time when it’s very clear the world needs to be transitioning to a more plant based diet. Not just for wildlife - but for us too.

“As you know, the farming fraternity and their lobby within government is very strong and it’s growing stronger and that’s a real concern. They may consider themselves custodians of the countryside - but if that’s the case they are not doing a very good job of looking after it.

“Most of our farmland species are in critical decline. We’ve got to cut back on that animal agriculture - and that means eating less meat.

“You need to put the brakes on as rapidly as possible and make sure you transfer all of that investment into a sustainable green economy.”

While many farmers may baulk at the suggestion of reducing meat and dairy, the wildlife advocate says they could reap real rewards by “diversifying” their land and supporting the likes of birds of prey, which “are worth £20m each in terms of tourism” in Scotland but are being poisoned in NI.

“You’ve got issues,” Packham added.

“There’s still education that needs to be done - work on the ground winning hearts and minds. Making sure people understand those raptors are not a threat to their livestock or their livlihood and that they are an essential part of the biodiversity.

“They are also extremely important economically. Those opportunities - that’s the way forward. Our landscape needs to be diversified, we have a growing population that needs access to greenspaces for physical and mental health reasons and we’ve got to make sure it is accessible to people and when they go they are rewarded.

“That doesn’t mean farmers aren’t rewarded at the same time if they are diversifying. The problem, whether it’s Northern Ireland or anywhere else - is short-termism.

“When it comes to addressing environmental issues... it’s not a short-term fix. We’ve got to make suitable investment for the foreseeable future - politicians are not very good at that... and are unfortunately... not immune from the very powerful vested interests in the form of lobbying.

“That’s unhealthy for everyone. We know there’s a lot of money involved and that buys the best lobbyists. Planning is one of those situations, whereby we’ve got to build houses and we’ve got to build the right houses.”

But not “in places where we should be protecting biodiversity or containing green space so people can walk and get access to nature for their health” he says.

“We should be putting those houses in the right place, they should have solar panels on the roof... grey water collection, electric car charging points, all mandatory... and the best standard of insulation anywhere in western Europe. The reason they don’t have these things is a lack of regulation... because when it comes to development, the housebuilders are rather like the farmers, a very powerful lobby giving money to political parties.

“We know how to do these things, we’re just not doing it because we’re allowing greedy people to get away with it. But that doesn’t mean our voice is nullified - we can communicate with those politicians. Enough people do care.

“We can also ultimately... unelect them based on what they do for us - and we’ve got to make sure we ask them to do the right thing and provide them with the right material so they know that’s the right thing to do.

“We’ve argued for some time that when it comes to dealing with environmental concerns, it should be an apolitical issue.

“It needs to be taken outside those terms of [political] office - they are not there long enough to be able to make meaningful differences and they are too scared to invest in anything outside their terms of office.

“It’s about making a commitment to do something - we just don’t have bold and brave enough politicians.

“There are some of them - just not enough in decision making positions.”

Chris Packham is appearing at the Our Stories Festival in Belfast on November 21. Tickets are £22 and available from nisciencefestival.com

He will be joined by Wild Belfast’s Conor McKinney and Fridays for Future Northern Ireland youth climate activist, Anna Kernahan.

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