Rattus thinks that the heatwave and drought is getting almost as bad as 1976. In that year there were serious wildfires in Wales and these are now very likely.
In Europe abandonment of shepherded grazing can lead to build up of flammable vegetation and not only are fires more likely but they are much more intense.
Sixty years ago every village in Greece had goats or sheep that were grazed by shepherds in the hills but now they are a rarity. Fencing is also rare making grazing difficult. No wonder they have fires.
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We have a problem in Wales with commons. Many are no longer grazed and are overrun with bracken, gorse and bramble.
The Glastir scheme for commons often paid farmers to reduce stocking levels which in some cases meant farmers didn’t bother to graze them at all. Ticks, dense bracken and sheep getting entangled with bramble mean commons are not places you want to graze premium stock.
Even the sole remaining grazier soon thinks it is too time consuming and too difficult even without the problem of gathering and separating flocks. It used to be a good place to dry off the ewes and keep the good grass to fatten the lambs at home.
There may be answers such as harvesting bracken and composting it as an alternative to peat. Commons are great places for wildlife but not when they catch fire.
The management of commons is not easy and though commons can go into the Sustainable Farming Scheme, Welsh Government has neither the money nor the mechanism to ensure that they are managed properly and don’t catch fire. The new Welsh Government may have an urgent job they were not expecting.
Rattus rattus
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