That’s great Debs, and thank you and everyone else whose signed. We need to fight for our animals and fish, these petitions do work, I’ve signed several lately regarding trade deals, one of those has got through, and the outcome is good.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I dislike 38 Degrees. They get the job done but the link page has very little info on what the petition is asking for and their endless petitions can often be ill considered and devalue the effectiveness of petitions through their sheer volume if nothing else.
To put this in context:
In 2010 the government pledged to create 127 Marine conservation zones around our coastline (the consultation to reach this number cost £8m of our money alone). This was decreed as an act of parliament, The Marine and Costal Access Act 2009. By 2013 they has managed only 23 zones and were already bowing to pressure from the fishing industry and were scrapping most of the proposals. By 2016 the number rose to 50 zones but plans were being made to allow dregging for scallops and other destructive practices in some of the protected areas. The further 23 new protected areas that were proposed at that time were criticised as having very little real protection and management. For example most MCZs don't actually prohibit commercial fishing, only a very small proportion have 'no take' rules. As long as they don't touch the sea floor it's fair game in reality.
This new pledge of 41 additional zones is still way below the number required by the legal Act and if they don't sort out the management and give them actual protection then it's a waste of time anyway. DEFRA have said that they will try and reduce harmful practices within MCZs
I'm not saying don't sign, I'm just saying the petition doesn't go far enough (or explain what you're actually signing).
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
The petitions that as you say, devalue it are the ones put on by you or I, anybody can use their site to start one, could be something like ‘ can we save our allotments’ or ‘save our children’s playground, not really important to some people but means a lot to them. in fact, I first came across the site through someone on here asking us to sign to save their allotment. Not groundbreaking, but meant a lot to them. Everything is important to somebody.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
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Done 🐳
in fact, I first came across the site through someone on here asking us to sign to save their allotment. Not groundbreaking, but meant a lot to them.
Everything is important to somebody.