"Oz" wrote in message
...
Michael Saunby writes

Dogs, hawk and guns are also good for controlling larger pests. Though
even wild owls will help control voles and rats - hence old barns have
nesting access built in; something that may come back into fashion.

Unlikely, all approval schemes require effective control of rodents.
Without food, owls will perish.
With rodents, farms cannot sell their produce easily, if at all.

This is supposed to improve human health, although I have never seen any
recorded problem in recent decades in the UK associated with farm
rodents and *consumer* health.

Tough on owls and raptors, then.


Ah, but there ain't no money in farming. Far better to have a wildlife
reserve that produces some surplus for sale to the public.

Or perhaps even a museum. There's a pilchard factory in Cornwall that was
told it couldn't produce salted pilchards because the method no longer
conformed with current food standards. However the method is so ancient
(and presents no risk) so the factory is now classed as a museum and life
continues pretty much as normal. See
http://www.chycor.co.uk/tourism/cata...hard-works.htm

Of course this approach might require you to wear a smock while sitting at
your PC, and you might have to give up that new fangled metric system too
:-)

Michael Saunby