Woolly maggots, nature-destroyers – sheep are criticised by many conservationists for denuding Britain’s uplands of rare plants and trees.
So The Wildlife Trusts were shocked when they were compelled to buy 4,000 sheep as part of the biggest land restoration project in England.
The flock were part of the deal to buy the first “big chunk” of the 3,850-hectare (9,500-acre) Rothbury estate last autumn, the largest land sale in England for 30 years. How they are going to be managed, alongside the charity’s plans to replenish nature on the estate, has put the spotlight on critical questions about the future of upland sheep farming.
In what is The Wildlife Trusts’ biggest ever land purchase and fundraising challenge, in partnership with Northumberland Wildlife Trust, has so far raised nearly 25% of its £30m target to complete the purchase of the whole estate, which will become a haven for curlew, merlins, cuckoos and red squirrels.
However, boosting nature on the estate will be a balancing act, with the trusts – keen to work with local farmers – vowing that sheep and other grazing animals will continue to play a role.
“The Wildlife Trusts are not against sheep,” said Rob Stoneman, director of nature recovery at The Wildlife Trusts. “We don’t call them woolly maggots. Pretty much every wildlife trust owns sheep and uses them for essential conservation work, particularly where we have short-cropped grass [for certain rare species].”
Work has already begun to restore nature on the newly bought section. The trusts insist they are not abandoning farming but will use regenerative techniques to retain open landscapes that many declining bird species depend upon. In doing so, they hope to offer a new model for the uplands of profitable, nature-friendly farming.
Guided by the stockman who has long managed the flock on the hilly, western part of the estate that the trusts have bought, they are slowly reducing the number of sheep while adding new cattle to the grazing community.
They include Casanova, an appropriately named red Luing bull charged with increasing the herd of 100 cattle on the Simonside Hills. The Luing is an extremely hardy breed well suited to extreme conditions. Casanova, from nearby Peebles, and his offspring’s grazing and trampling will help manage grasslands to ensure an abundance of songbirds, while beef will provide income for the trust.
According to Stoneman, swaths of uplands have been degraded, particularly after the system of “headage payments” in the 1970s, 80s and 90s incentivised land managers to put too many sheep on to the hills. Although flock sizes have fallen since then, they are still higher than they were in the 1940s and 50s.
But the future looks grim for upland sheep farming: trade quotas which historically restricted foreign lamb sold in Britain are being phased out post-Brexit, public appetite for lamb is declining, and most sheep farms depend on rapidly disappearing agricultural subsidies.
Stoneman said negative future scenarios for British upland farming include widespread land abandonment, as witnessed in central Spain and Portugal, or family farms being dissolved into vast New Zealand-style ranches.
“Neither outcomes are good for the people who live, work and prosper in these uplands. At Rothbury we can try and model out a just transition for upland farming,” he said. “If we bring cattle back into the landscape we know that’s good for nature but it might be more profitable as well.”
Another fear among many upland residents is landowners turning hillsides into dense stands of non-native plantation forestry, which could be as bad for biodiversity as too many sheep. If the trusts do not raise the rest of the £30m required, the remainder of the estate could still be bought by commercial forestry interests.
“If we didn’t buy it, that’s probably the future for the Rothbury estate,” said Stoneman. “That’s catastrophic. Once land use is changed to sitka spruce, and split up, that opportunity for nature restoration at scale, and joining up land, is lost for ever.”
Baseline monitoring on the part of Rothbury now under the charity’s care is the first step to transform it into a nature-rich mosaic of boggy moorland, woodland and meadows. Grouse moorland that has historically been burned and drained will be returned to boggy, carbon sinks, while scrub and trees will be allowed to regenerate on grassland, creating a wood pasture, which will be kept from turning into shady forest by cattle.
“Our vision is gradual change but in five years’ time you’ll start to see the difference – it’s putting nature at the centre of the estate,” said Mike Pratt, chief executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, who is heartened by local backing for the Wildlife Trusts’ purchase of Rothbury.
“The enthusiasm and support has been breathtaking,” he said. The Women’s Institute in Rothbury is raising funds and two local crafters have raised £900 in two months through the sale of their needle-felt decorations.
“Lots of local people are very excited and energised by helping to restore nature in the area,” said crafter Lydia Nixon. “There’s so much potential for the River Coquet too – and the hills are just magical.”
Pratt said he was hopeful that alongside the local fundraising, talks with businesses, philanthropists and funding foundations will help raise the rest of the target. “£30m is a lot of money but it will only buy you a new roundabout in Newcastle,” he said. “We’ve undervalued nature as a society and we’ve got to put nature back into health and it costs money. But in the bigger scheme of things it’s not that much.”
Some farmers, including the tenant farmer on the trusts’ newly acquired land, are supportive of the charity’s vision although Pratt admitted that there were concerns about the potential loss of food production.
“We can have food productivity and nature, and this is a better use of marginal land,” he said. “Northumberland is the best place, the only place in England, where we can really restore nature at a landscape scale.
“If we don’t restore nature here, where can we do it? We need to push the envelope and honour this landscape. To restore this for nature and for people’s benefit is just a thrill.”