Luing cattle are helping boost butterfly conservation at Lakeland farm
23 Jun 2014 04:25 PM
A herd of shaggy
four-legged conservation heroes is helping an upland farm in the Lake District
to become a haven for some of the country’s most endangered
butterflies.
A herd of Luing cattle has been
recruited to graze the land at High House Farm to help safeguard a future for
Cumbria’s endangered high brown fritillary butterflies by creating ideal
habitat for the rare insects. The butterfly is giving cause for conservation
concern as its population has crashed by more than 90% since the
1970s.
The high brown fritillary
butterfly depends for its lifecycle on woodlands and on grassland habitat where
there is sufficient light to promote growth of violets, which are the favoured
food plant of the butterfly’s larva. As part of a Natural England Higher Level
Stewardship agreement, the Luing herd is grazing a Site of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) at High House Farm, Winster in
Cumbria where their trampling and grazing helps to keep bracken in check, which
in turn allows violet plants to grow and the high brown fritillary butterflies
to thrive.
To help showcase the
environmental and commercial benefits of keeping the breed, the Luing Cattle Societyis breaking with nearly four
decades of tradition by hosting its annual open day in England for the first
ever time this year. The event takes place on the afternoon of Friday 1st
August, at High House Farm, which overlooks Lake
Windermere. The event is being supported by Natural England’s Cumbria
team, who hope that more farmers will come to appreciate the particular
environmental qualities that grazing Luings can bring.
Farm Manager, Alec Smith, has
found that the Luings’ hardy, Highland heritage makes them perfectly
suited to the Lakeland fells and as well as providing the farm with an income
from rearing the cattle he is delighted that the herd is helping improve the
wildlife habitats.
Alec said: “We have worked
hard over the last ten years to establish and grow a pedigree herd of Luing
cattle at High House Farm. The Luings have demonstrated many, valuable benefits
to our farm and to our landscape. We needed a breed that could manage
adequately our rough, Lakeland land with minimal handling, yet still deliver
productivity and a high commercial yield. We are delighted to host this
year’s Open Day at High House Farm and to be working with Natural England
and Butterfly Conservation to share our experiences of working with the
Luings.”
Simon Humphries, Natural
England’s Area Manager for Cumbria, added: “We are delighted that
the Luing Cattle Society’s Open Day will be held in the Lakes for the
first time this summer. Luing cattle are proving to be an excellent native
breed to use where conservation grazing is needed and very well-suited to the
uplands of Cumbria. One of the reasons why Natural England is so pleased to
support the Open Day is that this is a great example of how enhancing the
environment also makes good commercial sense and shows that these two factors
can go hand in hand.”
The Open Day will provide an
opportunity for local and national farmers, existing and potential Luing
breeders, environmentalists and food, farming, and forestry industry
representatives to find out more about the breed. The event is also intended to
be an enjoyable, educational experience for members of the general public with
the chance to see the Luing herd grazing the farm, join guided walk to discover
the area’s special wildlife, and enjoy plenty of other activities
throughout the afternoon.
The event will be held on the
afternoon of Friday 1 August and is free to attend. Anyone who would like to go
along is invited to register an interest in attending the event
as soon as possible
For further information
(media enquiries only) please contact:
David Hirst, Natural England
press officer: 0300 0601720 or 0782 7821679
david.hirst@naturalengland.org.uk
Twitter: @NaturalEngland
Additional
notes:
-
Luing Cattle were first bred on
the Hebridean island of Luing in the 1940s. The cattle brought together the
qualities of a Beef Shorthorn and the hardiness of a Scottish Highlander and
the Luings were soon prized by farmers in Scotland for their hardiness, easy
handling and commercial viability.
-
Working with experts from
Butterfly Conservation, Natural England has found Luing cattle to be among the
best of the traditional cattle breeds at achieving benefits for the natural
environment when used for conservation grazing as part of Agri-Environment
schemes in Cumbria.
-
Once common and widespread in
woodlands and rough grassland in southern, central and north-west England and
Wales, the high brown fritillary butterfly is now confined to a few sites in
north-west England, Dartmoor, Exmoor and Wales.
About Environmental
Stewardship
Environmental stewardship
schemes are administered by Natural England, on behalf of Defra, and fund
farmers and land managers throughout England to deliver effective environmental
management on their land. The objectives of Environmental Stewardship are
to:
-
Promote public access and
understanding of the countryside
-
Maintain and enhance landscape
quality and character
-
Protect the historic environment
and natural resources
-
Conserve
biodiversity