'Respect our reserves' urges Trust

Some of the most beautiful parts of Northumberland are being damaged by fly-tippers, thoughtless walkers and dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.
Flexigraze Manx Loughton sheep at Druridge Bay.Flexigraze Manx Loughton sheep at Druridge Bay.
Flexigraze Manx Loughton sheep at Druridge Bay.

Thoughtless walkers are also causing problems by forgetting to close gates – and therefore putting livestock and animals at risk – and failing to stick to marked footpaths.

By not keeping to designated routes, visitors are unwittingly damaging flowers, grasses and wildlife and do not realise that feeding livestock can actually cause them physical harm.

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With more people than ever enjoying their holidays in the UK, Northumberland Wildlife Trust has asked the public to enjoy its reserves in a safe and respectful way.

Dogs need to be kept under control and their mess should be disposed of in proper bins, not left on the ground or bagged up and placed in a tree or bush.

Fly-tipping is still proving to be a problem, especially at the Trust’s Druridge Bay reserves. Visitors have also trampled down fences and left gates open, allowing livestock to escape which is what happened last year when Highland cattle escaped into the Druridge Bay Country Park and took three days to be rounded up.

Illegal hare-coursing season is also approaching, and those involved are currently travelling around the countryside and cutting down fences, to allow quick access across fields.

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The Trust has therefore asked the public to help it crack down on coursing, and report any suspicious activity to police by dialling 111,

Duncan Hutt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s director of conservation, says: “We want people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the invaluable health and wellbeing benefits that nature offers on our reserve, but we also want them to give them the respect they deserve.

“Although the pandemic has changed people’s relationships with nature, over the past eighteen months we have seen a huge increase in littering and fly-tipping on or reserves which has to be cleared away by our volunteers who already have a huge backlog of practical conservation tasks to tackle.”

One of 46 wildlife trusts in the UK, Northumberland Wildlife Trust has campaigned for nature conservation for 50 years. It aims to inform, educate and involve people of all ages and backgrounds in protecting their environment in favour of wildlife and conservation.