Archived press release

US firm still destroying top UK wildlife sites. FOE calls for action on World Wetlands Day

2 February 2001

Some of the UK's finest wildlife sites are still being seriously damaged, despite a Government pledge to protect them. Friends of the Earth today - World Wetlands Day - accused US horticultural company Scotts (owners “Miracle-Gro” and “Levington”) of delaying talks on protecting the UK's best peatland sites so that it can take a giant last-gasp grab of peat before cutting is shut down for good.

The UK's peatlands are some of the most important wetland habitats in the UK. They are home to a vast array of wildlife species, and are also of great cultural and archaeological interest. But some of the best examples of this precious habitat, such as Thorne and Hatfield Moors in South Yorkshire and Wedholme Flow in Cumbria -designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) - are suffering from industrial-scale peat extraction by the US based “Scotts Company”. At the corporation's recent Annual Shareholders Meeting, their Chief Executive, Mr. 'Chuck' Berger boasted about how the company has turned “...dirt into dollars” [2].

Last August, the Government announced their proposals to make Thorne, Hatfield and Wedholme Flow “Special Areas of Conservation” (or 'SACs') under the EU Habitats Directive. The proposals were warmly welcomed by local people and conservation groups, because the new designation would finally spell an end to peat cutting on the sites. But peat-cutting has yet to stop.

This is not the first time that authorities have tried to stop peat cutting by Scotts. The company is adept at using delaying tactics to slow down legal proceedings. In 1990, the US Government filed a suit against the company seeking a permanent injunction against peat extraction at a site in New Jersey. But the company's lawyers have held the suit in “administrative suspension” ever since.Over ten years later the case has still not been resolved.

UK conservationists are now worried that the company is using the same delaying tactics. The UK Government has yet to confirm the new conservation status proposed for the three peatland sites,even though it did confirm enhanced protection for a large number of equivalent sites earlier this week. Further investigations have revealed that the Government is “still in negotiations” with Scotts.

Friends of the Earth is convinced that the US multinational is stalling progress on new designations,so that they can enjoy a final “summer of destruction” on the three sites. But local conservationists have warned that another season of full-scale peat cutting will spell wildlife disaster for Thorne Moor,Hatfield Moor and Wedholme Flow.

Craig Bennett, Wildlife Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:

“The UK Government has promised to stop the terrible damage to our precious peatlands. But discussions between the Government and Scotts are being stalled. Until the talking stops the destruction will continue. The Government must move quickly to prevent this huge multi-national from damaging any more of our wonderful wildlife havens. Scotts mustn't be allowed to turn any more British 'dirt' into US dollars”.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] World Wetlands Day marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the international Convention on Wetlands (The Ramsar Convention) on 2nd February 1971. The Convention has now been signed by 123 countries, and its purpose is to facilitate the conservation of wetlands and their resources.Activities are taking place today, around the world, to celebrate the importance of wetlands for both wildlife and people. For more information, please see www.ramsar.org

[2] Comment taken from transcript of speech made by Mr. Charles Berger, Chief Executive and CEO of The Scotts Company, at the Annual Shareholders Meeting, January 18th 2001, The Westin-Great Southern Hotel, Columbus, Ohio.

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