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Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Photo credit: Andrew Matthews\/PA Wire. Industrial fishing. Image: PETA<\/p>\n Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Photo credit: Andrew Matthews\/PA Wire. Industrial fishing. Image: PETA<\/p>\n
Stephen Price<\/p>\n
Three news reports hit the headlines this week highlighting the earth\u2019s descent into ecological collapse in no uncertain terms.<\/p>\n
Clicks are king in the media, however, and despite their importance, few actually bother to read anything about nature or animals.<\/p>\n
A piece about a closing down pub or an appearance on a top ten list, that\u2019s where the clicks lie. Articles on war, extinction, the climate? A handful of readers at best.<\/p>\n
Firstly, some seasonal \u2018good news\u2019 in the lifting of mandatory avian influenza housing measures across England and Wales amid \u201creceding\u201d threat levels, following a Defra announcement.<\/p>\n
Defra said the latest risk assessment, epidemiological and scientific evidence shows bird flu risk levels in wild birds and poultry has reduced, although avian influenza prevention zone mandatory biosecurity measures will remain in place until the wild bird risk falls further.<\/p>\n
Welsh CVO Richard Irvine added: \u201cIt\u2019s important to get ready for lifting the Housing Order on 9 April, including to check and prepare ranges and outdoor areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst we are seeing risk levels reducing, bird flu has not gone away. Please continue to practice scrupulous hygiene and biosecurity to protect your birds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second piece: the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal were singled out among a host of countless others species which are facing the threat of extinction because of climate change, a new conservation assessment has warned.<\/p>\n
The loss of sea ice and shrinking food availability have caused both populations to plummet in recent years, according to the latest assessment for the International Union for Conservation of Nature\u2019s (IUCN) red list of threatened species.<\/p>\n
The findings have prompted calls for urgent action to reduce planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions as well as supporting Antarctica\u2019s role in stabilising the planet\u2019s climate and providing refuge to unique wildlife.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the southern elephant seal has moved from \u201cleast concern\u201d to \u201cvulnerable\u201d on the red list following declines caused by (welcome back to the conversation) bird flu.<\/p>\n
The disease has affected four of the five major subpopulations, killing more than 90% of newborn pups in some colonies and seriously impacting adult females.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/fish-and-chips-anglesey-1376x710-1-1024x528.jpeg\")
Fish and chips on the beach. Image: Driftwood Guest House<\/p>\n
The third story to hit the lower reaches of news sites was the warning that \u2018Brits\u2019 should \u201ccompletely avoid\u201d buying UK-caught cod, according to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), as it warned that populations have reached a dangerous point of decline despite zero-catch recommendations.<\/p>\n
The MCS, a supposed environmental charity (that pushes eating sea life \u2013 make it make sense), publishes a Good Fish Guide to help consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices.<\/p>\n
On Thursday it downgraded all UK-caught cod to the worst possible rating, recommending consumers choose European hake as a flaky white fish alternative.<\/p>\n
Kerry Lyne, Good Fish Guide manager, called the downgrade a \u201cwarning signal\u201d, and said the UK government needed to \u201caddress these concerns to allow stocks to recover\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Guardian shared: \u201cConcerns about cod fishing echo those expressed over mackerel this time last year. When persistent overfishing caused by quota disagreements between the UK and its coastal neighbours depleted fish stocks, mackerel was removed from the Good Fish Guide recommended list.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore recently, Waitrose announced that it will stop selling mackerel by 29 April, saying fishing must be kept within \u2018sustainable limits’\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris Graham, head of sustainable seafood at the MCS, said: \u201cIt\u2019s deeply concerning seeing so many of our iconic fisheries \u2013 from cod to mackerel \u2013 under increasing pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Guardian article continues: \u201cThe MCS has asked consumers to consider more sustainable alternatives to UK cod, such as Icelandic cod, which is abundant and not subject to overfishing. More locally, European hake is recommended as a sustainable choice, as is haddock, particularly if caught in the North Sea or west of Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther options for shoppers wanting to make sustainable choices include seabass or plaice from the North Sea, and UK-farmed seafood such as blue mussels and freshwater trout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe MCS updates its Good Fish Guide advice twice a year, depending on the latest scientific advice. In particular it looks at stock levels and plans for management.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where to start\u2026<\/p>\n
Starting with the bird flu restrictions..<\/p>\n
Avian Influenza or Avian Flu continues to spread through our captive and wild bird populations in the UK. The scale of Avian Flu outbreaks across the UK and Europe have been unprecedented with over 330 cases confirmed across the country between late October 2021 and April 2023 alone according to a UK Wildlife Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n And the origin? For the handful of meat eaters that will actually read this.. drum roll: poultry farms and other captive birds. The virus then spreads to our wild bird populations particularly affecting sea and wetland species.<\/p>\n According to PETA<\/a>: \u201cBird flu, also known as avian flu, is a type of influenza that spreads among birds and one of numerous diseases caused by keeping animals for food. The H5N1 strain of bird flu \u2013 the outbreak of which we are now seeing around the world \u2013 originated in farmed geese before infecting chickens raised for their flesh and eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n Bird flu has killed millions of wild birds worldwide, including tens of thousands from 78 wild bird species in the UK. Seabirds, waterfowl, and birds of prey are most affected, including barnacle geese, swans, peregrine falcons, hen harriers, buzzards, white-tailed eagles, golden eagles, gannets, roseate terns, black-headed gulls, guillemots, kittiwakes, and herring gulls. Three-quarters of the UK\u2019s pairs of great skua, a protected species whose main population lives in the UK, have been killed off.<\/p>\n PETA continue: \u201cAt least half a billion birds on farms have also been killed due to the H5 strain of avian influenza and its variants since the strain was first identified. H5N1 is especially deadly for chickens \u2013 their heads swell, they struggle to breathe, and they experience extreme diarrhoea. But it is not only a devastating pandemic for birds.\u201d<\/p>\n Rest assured \u2013 the restrictions will return, and our puffins and other supposed-beloved birds will reach breaking point. The writing is on the wall.<\/p>\n The answer? Simple. All of us, each and every one of us, addressing the root cause \u2013 the food on our plates.<\/p>\n The same answer lies, in part, with the global catastrophe facing our wildlife.<\/p>\n Study after study shows that a vegan diet can lessen your carbon footprint.<\/p>\n Feeding massive amounts of grain and water to farmed animals and then killing them and processing, transporting, and storing their flesh is extremely energy-intensive. And forests\u2014which absorb greenhouse gases\u2014are cut down in order to supply pastureland and grow crops for farmed animals. Roughly 80% of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has been caused by cattle ranchers, who destroy the land in order to raise animals for their skin and flesh. Finally, the animals themselves and all the manure that they produce release even more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.<\/p>\n An Oxford University study<\/a>, published in the journal Climatic Change, shows that meat-eaters are responsible for almost twice as many dietary greenhouse-gas emissions per day as vegetarians and about two and a half times as many as vegans.<\/p>\n The U.N. says that raising animals for food is \u201cone of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.\u201d<\/p>\n One recent study<\/a> showed that a vegan diet reduced carbon emissions by 46%, water use by 7%, and land use by 33%, while the two vegetarian diets cut carbon emissions by up to 35%.<\/p>\n Then to the Marine Conservation Society.. How about not fishing at all?<\/p>\n Seriously? Why are they not promoting leaving the ocean alone?<\/p>\n Our oceans are being decimated \u2013 cod \u2018supplies\u2019 are the canary in the mine. The interdependent ecosystems around them are all failing too.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just cod that\u2019s suffering: \u201cUp to 40% of all marine life caught gets thrown right back overboard if it\u2019s \u2018bycatch,\u2019 and most of them die before they even hit the water,\u201d according to Seaspiracy director Ali Tabrizi.<\/p>\n PETA write: \u201cIt\u2019s simple \u2013 stop eating fish and seafood. You will save the lives of many animals and diminish the profits of a global industry that harms millions of sentient beings a day and is responsible for wrecking our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest source of plastic in the ocean? Fishing nets. But let\u2019s all drink with a paper straw while we eat seafood shall we..<\/p>\n That we\u2019re debating which fish to kill off next when we can all eat nutritious delicious vegan food right now, and minimise our land use and feed more people in the bargain is one of life\u2019s cruelest absurdities.<\/p>\n Where do we turn?<\/p>\n A while ago, on Facebook, I made the mistake of commenting below a disappointing piece from Zack Polanski titled \u2018Zack Polanski: You can fly, drive, eat meat and still be green\u2019 where the Greens leader boldly claimed that individual responsibility isn\u2019t an issue, that we\u2019re all absolved and it\u2019s all on the big corporate bogeyman. The onslaught of commenters (mostly Green supporting \u2018lefties\u2019) telling me they agreed with Polanski (and not my one liner about us all having a part to play) was telling.<\/p>\n The Greens have some good green credentials, and are better than most parties out there, but they are very silent about them at the moment. A few lines on the site and in their manifestos but these are largely overlooked and unimportant at the minute. Green but not quite. And just like important news stories, green policies don\u2019t get the clicks.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-58.jpg\")
Avian flu<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PETA-Dungannon-1-scaled-1-1024x684.jpg\")
Bird Flu. Image: PETA<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Nation-Cymru-11-1.jpg\")
\u2018Bycatch\u2019 \u2013 Image: PETA<\/p>\n