Hen Harrier. Copy Permitted.
You may be interested in a reply I received from a Mr Duxbury of the Executive Office at Marks and Spencer regarding the introduction of Red Grouse sales at two of their stores in London.
You will note not a word about precisely who/where the Red Grouse are being sourced from, nor any mention that Marks and Spencer are aware of the Hen Harrier issue therefore not a word about whether or not they are taking steps to be assured that the grouse are not supplied as a result of the eradication of raptors off the moors, and that Marks and Spencer are in full control of the facts behind the Red Grouse being 'protected from the raptors on the moors through persecution'.
The North Yorkshire Moors....one of the worst raptor persecution areas in the whole of the UK.
The bold highlights in this e-mail are mine, the message is otherwise unedited and is copied directly from my inbox.
Dear Mr Woodruff
Thank you for emailing Steve Rowe to share your concerns about the introduction of grouse into some of our stores. As a member of his personal team, I'm replying on his behalf.
We have the highest standards of animal welfare and only source from suppliers we know and trust. Our game range is sourced from well-managed estates across the UK stretching from Nottinghamshire to the Scottish borders, with the majority of product coming from Yorkshire and Northumberland.
Game is one of the most animal welfare friendly meats you can eat as it is totally free range – the birds live totally in the wild and in their natural habitats. It is also a very sustainable option and good estate management and conservation intended for game shooting actually stops deforestation, and encourages the protection of the countryside.
I appreciate you taking the time to get in touch with us to raise your concerns about the sale of grouse in our stores. I hope my email has helped to reassure you of how seriously we take our commitments to the environment and ethical sourcing.
Kind Regards
Stephen Duxbury, Executive Office.
I'm making no comments about this e-mail other than....its weakness is quite unbelievable - obviously planned that way - and addresses not one single issue put to M and S in my e-mail to them.
You may also like to read this which is belated on my part, but I did a little of what was suggested in this post by Alan Tilmouth
The standard reply then pete. Do they think that the letter was sent by an upset 9 year old girl ! ( no offence to 9 year old girls!)
ReplyDeleteA totally unacceptable reply, they couldn't give a toss could they :-(
Well done Pete! As usual someone skirting around the issue in reply. Still we should expect these rather standard replies by now.
ReplyDeleteThe campaign against raptor persecution is definitely gathering pace I believe.
Regards,
Colin
Such a sorry state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteI have read what Alan Timoulth says about it, I will try to relay this on my blog, unfortunately as I was telling him , not much I can do from here.
The only suggestion I can make is to get people to boycott the grouse from M&S and get as many English blogs to talk about this.
Don't be surprised at their answer, they are totally prepared for this kind of protest. To get a positive reaction, protesters must show great strength to scare them.
Kind regards Pete
Warren....Don't give a toss as you say, but they'll need to be made to.
ReplyDeleteColin....Yes, skirting around the issue. Lets hope everyone skirts around M and S....on the outside in protest hopefully.
Noushka....Flag this up on '1000-pattes' if you would please.
Thanks for your contributions, at least I know how three people feel about this tragic story of the Hen Harrier in the UK and the side salad which goes with it.