Beak, Tooth and Claw
Living with Predators in Britain
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Beak, Tooth and Claw
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Narrated by:
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Mary Colwell
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By:
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Mary Colwell
About this listen
Foxes, buzzards, crows, badgers, weasels, seals, kites – Britain and Ireland’s predators are impressive and diverse and they capture our collective imagination. But many consider them to our competition, even our enemies.
The problem is that predators eat what we farm or use for sport. From foxes and ravens attacking new-born lambs to weasels eating game-bird chicks, predators compete with us, putting them directly into the firing line. Farming, fishing, sport and leisure industries want to see numbers of predators reduced, and conservation organisations also worry that predators are threatening some endangered species. Other people, though, will go to great lengths to protect them from any harm. This clashing of worlds can be intense. So, what do we do? One of the greatest challenges facing conservation today is how, when and where to control predators. It is a highly charged debate.
Mary Colwell travels across the UK and Ireland to encounter the predators face to face. She watches their lives in the wild and discovers how they fit into the landscape. She talks to the scientists studying them and the wildlife lovers who want to protect them. She also meets the people who want to control them to protect their livelihoods or sporting interests.
In this even-handed exploration of the issues, Mary provides a thoughtful and reasoned analysis of the debates surrounding our bittersweet relationship with predators.
©2021 Mary Colwell (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘Provocative, thought provoking and life affirming. Mary Colwell enters a world steeped in blood, much of it on our hands. A masterpiece of Conservation writing’ Sir Tim Smit of the Eden Project
‘This fascinating – and balanced – book wrestles with our confused, paradoxical relationship with predators … and argues that our relationship with them needs to be evaluated within the context of its history’ The Field
‘There are few more fraught topics than the status of Britain’s larger predators … It takes immense courage to be a voice of calm … and once again Mary Colwell has stepped up to the mark. There is much to learn from this book’ BBC Wildlife
‘Colwell seeks to steer those who legally cull predators towards a more thoughtful stance, while urging others to understand why predators have to be managed’ BBC Countryfile magazine
‘This book made me question what I thought that I knew about species ranging from seals to wolves’ BTO magazine
‘An engaging, balanced and wise book on a contested subject … A lesson both in open-mindedness and in sweet reason’ Jeremy Mynott, author of Birdscapes
‘A brave book … that seeks out a fair-minded variety of opinions … thoroughly researched, indexed and annotated … this honest scrutiny of our relationship with middle-sized British predators is timely, informative and necessary’ Juliet Blaxford
What listeners say about Beak, Tooth and Claw
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tomaszek
- 06-05-21
Great book!
This is a great book for anyone even remotely interested in nature, wildlife, conservation or all of the above.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- eric.rayner@btinternet.com
- 28-10-21
Damning account of man's disregard of nature
Living with predators in Britain? ... we don't!
This is a book to make your blood boil. How have we allowed Britain to be stripped of balanced natural habitats? How have we allowed the shooting industry to disrupt nature's balance by releasing millions of non-native birds into the countryside each year? How have we sat by and allowed the destruction of species after species?
I say: bring back the wolves and set them on the Countryside Alliance.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss Trudi Barker
- 05-07-21
Everyone needs to read or listen to this!
loved it! I'm sure I will listen again. made me sad, angry, hopeful, happy and curious about the future here on earth.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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- Anna
- 13-08-22
Disappointed
I began to get disillusioned a few chapters in, gave up after badgers. Typical urban bias.
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