Big cat killing sheep/lambs?
Author
Discussion

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13731670

Farmer losing the odd sheep? Boo-fking-hoo!

anonymous-user

84 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
Beast of Bodmin emigrated?

DieselGriff

5,160 posts

289 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
OP I can't help but feel you've missed the point of the article, either that or I'm going to be hit by the dreaded whoosh parrot any time soon!

DonkeyApple

70,527 posts

199 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
I don't get it.

It's a five line story about a couple of dead sheep one of which may show signs of having been killed by a big cat.

I'm not seeing the reason for the vitriol towards a farmer who isn't even mentioned?

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
DieselGriff said:
OP I can't help but feel you've missed the point of the article, either that or I'm going to be hit by the dreaded whoosh parrot any time soon!
I just get annoyed by farmers moaning all the time! They get subsidised by us (heavily) for every animal of their's (dead or alive). Farming subsidy is substantially bigger than the defense budget I believe!

Our countryside needs a 'top preditor', indigenous or not. It was farming that got rid of our natural top predator (the wolf).

Less complaining for farmers please, especially when they fk up the environment more than about anything else in this country...

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
I don't get it.

It's a five line story about a couple of dead sheep one of which may show signs of having been killed by a big cat.

I'm not seeing the reason for the vitriol towards a farmer who isn't even mentioned?
I guarantee you it was a farmer or farm owner that made this story an issue...

DieselGriff

5,160 posts

289 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
Well whatever your view on farmers I think you need to stretch your imagination a little to turn this "Big Cat" story into a "Whinging Farmer" story. IMO.

Nice car BTW.

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
DieselGriff said:
Well whatever your view on farmers I think you need to stretch your imagination a little to turn this "Big Cat" story into a "Whinging Farmer" story. IMO.

Nice car BTW.
Feel free to discuss any issue in relation to the cat!

Thanks re. the car!

DonkeyApple

70,527 posts

199 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
DonkeyApple said:
I don't get it.

It's a five line story about a couple of dead sheep one of which may show signs of having been killed by a big cat.

I'm not seeing the reason for the vitriol towards a farmer who isn't even mentioned?
I guarantee you it was a farmer or farm owner that made this story an issue...
And nothing to do with this being Aviemore, where 95% of income is derived from tourism, just like in most of the other places where 'big cats' are spotted?

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
ViperPict said:
DonkeyApple said:
I don't get it.

It's a five line story about a couple of dead sheep one of which may show signs of having been killed by a big cat.

I'm not seeing the reason for the vitriol towards a farmer who isn't even mentioned?
I guarantee you it was a farmer or farm owner that made this story an issue...
And nothing to do with this being Aviemore, where 95% of income is derived from tourism, just like in most of the other places where 'big cats' are spotted?
No, this incident was in Sutherland. The reference to Aviemore is a previous sighting...

XDA

2,153 posts

215 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
I just get annoyed by farmers moaning all the time! They get subsidised by us (heavily) for every animal of their's (dead or alive). Farming subsidy is substantially bigger than the defense budget I believe!

Our countryside needs a 'top preditor', indigenous or not. It was farming that got rid of our natural top predator (the wolf).

Less complaining for farmers please, especially when they fk up the environment more than about anything else in this country...
What a pathetic uneducated rant.

Try your hand at farming for a week, and I'm pretty sure you'll be moaning.


ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Saturday 11th June 2011
quotequote all
XDA said:
ViperPict said:
I just get annoyed by farmers moaning all the time! They get subsidised by us (heavily) for every animal of their's (dead or alive). Farming subsidy is substantially bigger than the defense budget I believe!

Our countryside needs a 'top preditor', indigenous or not. It was farming that got rid of our natural top predator (the wolf).

Less complaining for farmers please, especially when they fk up the environment more than about anything else in this country...
What a pathetic uneducated rant.

Try your hand at farming for a week, and I'm pretty sure you'll be moaning.
A lot of my family are farmers. I have a PhD in ecology. fk you idiot.

XDA

2,153 posts

215 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
XDA said:
ViperPict said:
I just get annoyed by farmers moaning all the time! They get subsidised by us (heavily) for every animal of their's (dead or alive). Farming subsidy is substantially bigger than the defense budget I believe!

Our countryside needs a 'top preditor', indigenous or not. It was farming that got rid of our natural top predator (the wolf).

Less complaining for farmers please, especially when they fk up the environment more than about anything else in this country...
What a pathetic uneducated rant.

Try your hand at farming for a week, and I'm pretty sure you'll be moaning.
A lot of my family are farmers. I have a PhD in ecology. fk you idiot.
You're the idiot.

You do realise that farmers are paid subsidies for looking after the countryside??

You do realise that no one makes millions of pounds from farming??

Try spending years breeding a pedigree herd, just to have them killed needlessly?

If it wasn't for subsidies, there wouldnt be any farmers in the uk. Do you want your milk, fruit and veg from France, Spain or Germany?

Diary farmers are hardly breaking even for the milk they are producing??

Need I go on??

Not sure what type of farming your family does, but you don't have a clue.

NDA

25,737 posts

255 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
A lot of my family are farmers. I have a PhD in ecology. fk you idiot.
Nice.

Typical farmer. Apart from the PhD bit.

Caulkhead

4,938 posts

187 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
I just get annoyed by farmers moaning all the time! They get subsidised by us (heavily) for every animal of their's (dead or alive). Farming subsidy is substantially bigger than the defense budget I believe!
You know if you swap 'farmers' for Scots and 'defence budget' for north sea oil revenue, you sound exactly the people you are arguing with on the Scottish independence thread. . . . . . wink

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
XDA said:
ViperPict said:
XDA said:
ViperPict said:
I just get annoyed by farmers moaning all the time! They get subsidised by us (heavily) for every animal of their's (dead or alive). Farming subsidy is substantially bigger than the defense budget I believe!

Our countryside needs a 'top preditor', indigenous or not. It was farming that got rid of our natural top predator (the wolf).

Less complaining for farmers please, especially when they fk up the environment more than about anything else in this country...
What a pathetic uneducated rant.

Try your hand at farming for a week, and I'm pretty sure you'll be moaning.
A lot of my family are farmers. I have a PhD in ecology. fk you idiot.
You're the idiot.

You do realise that farmers are paid subsidies for looking after the countryside??

You do realise that no one makes millions of pounds from farming??

Try spending years breeding a pedigree herd, just to have them killed needlessly?

If it wasn't for subsidies, there wouldnt be any farmers in the uk. Do you want your milk, fruit and veg from France, Spain or Germany?

Diary farmers are hardly breaking even for the milk they are producing??

Need I go on??

Not sure what type of farming your family does, but you don't have a clue.
Farming COSTS us (taxpayers) money. There's SO much farming that is not financially viable in an open market. The subsidies are an archaic legacy of WW2. Any other business in the UK would have gone under a long time ago. Very happy to buy produce from a country where it's profitable - France, Germany, Poland - I don't care.

And farmers DO NOT look after the coutryside!! Some are neutral but the worst kill wildlife needlessly (birds of prey, badgers, foxes) and pollute our rivers. Our landscape is entirely fked up due to farming in the last 200-300 years.

Unprofitable farmland should be returned to it's natural state - far more economically and environmentally viable.

ViperPict

Original Poster:

10,087 posts

267 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
NDA said:
ViperPict said:
A lot of my family are farmers. I have a PhD in ecology. fk you idiot.
Nice.

Typical farmer. Apart from the PhD bit.
Note I'm anti-farmer!

DonkeyApple

70,527 posts

199 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
Note I'm anti-farmer!
Might as well be anti oxygen as well. biggrin

eharding

14,648 posts

314 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
ViperPict said:
A lot of my family are farmers. I have a PhD in ecology. fk you idiot.
Worst "Ooooooooooh, look at me, I've got a doctorate in Applied Twuntery from Bumfluff Polytechnic, and my family won't talk to me any more" thread, ever

MilnerR

8,273 posts

288 months

Sunday 12th June 2011
quotequote all
The EU as a whole spends around £34bn on subsidies through the common agricultural policy, the cost to the UK is around £10.3bn per year. The greatest beneficiaries of these subsidies are France (20%), Germany (13%) and Spain (11%). UK farmers received approximately 9%. Therefore, whilst I agree that tax payers (and consumers) are picking up the tab to say that it is more than the UK defense budget (£36.9bn) is completely incorrect. Given that you claim to have a Ph.D. it is odd that you launch into an argument without first checking the facts. If you are basing your prejudiced opinions on fallacy then an hour spent with google may help.

On a related note, whilst farming does impact biodiversity it has the bonus of feeding us, the "profitable" farmers of France and Germany as you put it cost the UK tax payer more than UK farmers, yet you'd be happy to buy from them, strange! Unlike Ph.Ds in Ecology, farmers do serve a useful function, in as much as they feed people, bearing in mind that we are an island, it seems prudent to try and maintain our ability to be self sufficient.

By the way, I too have a PhD, however I actually use mine to add to the GDP rather than take from it!