Dartmoor Farmers Face Backlash Over Grazing Practices and Climate Change

Dartmoor, a national park in southwest England, is a place of breathtaking beauty and ancient traditions. However, beneath its picturesque surface lies a complex web of environmental concerns, cultural heritage, and economic struggles that have pitted farmers against conservation groups. At the heart of the debate are the 850 Commoners who have the right to graze livestock on the moor, a tradition that dates back thousands of years. But with climate change altering the delicate balance of the ecosystem, some argue that the traditional grazing practices are no longer sustainable.

Key Takeaways:

• The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 grants the Commoners Council the responsibility to conserve the commons and restrict the number of animals each commoner is allowed to graze.
• Climate change has reduced the number of days with lying snow on Dartmoor from 20-30 to just 5, leading to reduced frosts and increased gorse growth.
• Wild Justice, a conservation group founded by Chris Packham, claims that overgrazing by sheep, subsidized by the public, is damaging the moor's biodiversity and argue that the Commoners Council has failed to enforce grazing controls.
• Commoners dispute this, citing improvements in farm management and a reduction in grazing numbers, and argue that climate change and restrictions on burning have led to the spread of pests like heather beetle.
• Archaeologist Alan Endacott warns that the erasure of the indigenous hill farming community on Dartmoor is a form of cultural genocide, citing ancient DNA studies that show Hill farmers on Dartmoor are a distinct group dating back to the Bronze Age.
• Steve Alford, a farmer from Elvan Farm, highlights the importance of livestock in maintaining the moor's ecosystem, including keeping streams drained and preventing the growth of woody vegetation.
• The restriction on swaling (controlled burning) since the 1990s has been cited as one of the main concerns for the Commoners, as it prevents them from controlling the spread of pests and encourages new growth.

Statistics:

• 850: The number of Commoners who have the right to graze livestock on Dartmoor.
• 20-30: The number of days with lying snow on Dartmoor in the past, now reduced to just 5.
• 1,000 years: The length of time that some farming families, including the Alford family, have farmed on Dartmoor.
• 400 square miles: The size of Dartmoor National Park.
• 1,000 feet: The traditional snowline on Dartmoor, now rarely reached.

Sources:

• The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985
• The Guardian: "Dartmoor farmers face backlash over grazing practices and climate change"
• The Telegraph: "Dartmoor farmers say they are being unfairly blamed for the decline of the moor's biodiversity"
• Natural England: "Dartmoor National Park Management Plan"
• Wild Justice: "The State of the Moors Report 2022"