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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Richard Klim" data-source="post: 1522497" data-attributes="member: 773">No Jos, despite IUCN's alarming overview of extinction rates and the effects of invasive species (post #16), it's actually not all doom and gloom down here in Somerset.Not long ago it was quite normal to scan Chew Valley Lake and see 700 Ruddies (with perhaps 100 Canada Geese and sundry other plastic wildfowl in the background).  Somerset's still got the Canadas, feral Greylags etc, but thanks to Defra's evil efforts, at least the Ruddies are generally down to double figures at CVL (despite passionate opposition from many local birders), and it's a bit more recognisable as a European lake (albeit artificial!).And sorry if I sounded patronising, but I re-emphasise my description 'well-intentioned', which I know is definitely true. That's the problem...RichardPS: Perhaps it was the term 'nature lovers' that you found patronising?  Again sorry, but it was just my clumsy attempt to reflect the fact that this argument is not restricted to birders - witness the folks who believe that hedgehogs should be left to flourish in the Western Isles.</blockquote>