Dun Roamin? We need more & better paths not a right to roam

The Right-to-Roam campaign evokes impeccably-behaved people, educated in how to experience the countryside in all its wonderfulness, with well-trained & short-leashed dogs and nary a poo bag or disposable barbeque left behind them.

The campaign says that people have a 'right to reconnect' and to 'have easy access to open space, and the physical, mental and spiritual health benefits that it brings.'

The concepts of reconnecting with nature and access to open space are spot on, as is the need to educate people about wildlife and nature.

But you don't need to be allowed to 'roam' to do that.

Here is a photo of some nature and open space freely accessible to connect with from a bridleway, one of the 180,000 miles of Public Rights of Way we have in England and Wales:

There are also nature reserves, National Trust, Woodland Trust & Forestry Commission lands, beaches and more. Why do we need to 'roam' onto farmland and into spaces where wildlife thrives?

It is said that in Scotland right to roam has worked well. Has it?

The Scotsman reported last year that the NFU has requested "a change in rules to protect Scottish farmers and crofters to ensure they are able to ‘safely produce the high quality, sustainable food and drink expected by consumers.’"

That's because, since Covid, "Landowner and farming organisations reported a barrage of complaints from their members on matters including damaged fences, out-of-control dogs pestering livestock, litter and fly tipping, wild camping, and unauthorised access to farm buildings and private gardens." The NFU in Scotland has even had to start an 'access advice page' and reporting page for access issues.

It is thought that this week's wild fire in Scotland was started by wild campers. And litter is a perennial problem in the countryside already (I, and armies of local litter pickers regularly have to pick up litter here in rural Essex, something which is repeated all over the country).

The Covid-led increase in dog ownership has also caused problems. Livestock attacks are on the rise, according to Countryfile. Even before Covid the All Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare (APGAW) estimated that around 15,000 sheep were killed by dogs in 2016.

It is not just livestock attacks. Dogs disturb ground-nesting birds. The RSPB advises that owners stick to designated paths and keep dogs on a lead around birds. But under right-to-roam, people would be off paths and not know where the nesting birds are. The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants notes that, "an exuberant or inquisitive dog, wandering or bounding through grass can all too easily disturb wildlife possibly trampling eggs or scaring adult birds off nests; vulnerable chicks can quickly perish if left alone for too long."

This threat to wildlife has even been described as the sixth driver of the sixth extinction, in a blog by Simon Leadbeater. He cites a sign put up by a wildlife trust in a local woodland which said, "[ancient woodland indicator] species’ survival in Ambrose Wood is being threatened by a number of access routes and frequent dog mess… Trampling results in bare ground, where only a few general species can survive. Dog mess results in nitrification of the soil, which encourages nettles and brambles to dominate and choke rarer species… we do not wish to prevent access… but we need to control the amount of disturbance and trampling… in order to preserve the ancient character of the wood and its associated wildlife."

Natural England has even gone as far as banning new homes in the New Forest and the Chilterns where visitor access threatens woodland. In Essex, a developer must pay a fee for every single new home, which in turn pays for visitor management in our sensitive coastal habitats, in the Essex Coast Recreational Disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy.

The UK is already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Nature, particularly in England, which is far more densely populated than Scotland, is under enough pressure already.

If we really want to reconnect with nature, surely we also want to protect it. Wouldn't it be better to campaign for blocked rights of way to be made accessible, for new rights of way where there are none, instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and unleashing the hordes?