Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has asked Labour to push for an expansion of the right to roam.
In Parliament, she asked Labour’s Environment Minister to assess extending public access to farmland, despite mounting evidence of the damage this causes in places like Scotland, where right-to-roam laws have contributed to a 30% rise in dog attacks on livestock in the UK last year, costing farmers £2.4 million in losses. Meanwhile, fly-tipping remains a growing crisis, with 1.15 million illegal dumping incidents recorded in England last year, a 6% increase on the previous year.
While specific figures on ground-nesting bird losses are difficult to track, conservation groups have long warned that increased foot traffic in sensitive environments leads to nest destruction, further endangering rare species. Many fear that expanding public access without accountability will turn working farms into unmanaged country parks, leaving farmers to deal with the consequences while urban politicians reap the political benefits.
Let me know if you think this is a good idea.
