A People’s Manifesto for Wildlife was published in September 2018 – how do the experts chosen to contribute as Ministers to the ‘first draft’ of the Manifesto reflect on what they wrote and proposed a year ago?

…our national parks are national parks in name only…when I think of the Peak District National Park – I don’t think it’s akin to Yosemite…

Dr Mark Avery | Minister for Wildlife Law One Year On
August 2019

Dr Mark Avery is a conservationist, blogger, author, founding director of campaigning organisation WildJustice, and a contributor to A People’s Manifesto for Wildlife as the Minister for Upland Ecology.

Charlie Moores spoke with Mark in Buxton (Derbyshire) for the podcast series ‘The People’s Manifesto for Wildlife – Revisited’ the day before Hen Harrier Day 2019. He asked Mark whether in the twelve months since the publication of the Manifesto there had there been much change in how are our uplands are managed or protected, whether he still stood by his assertion that the UK’s National Parks should be downgraded, and whether he considered that there was a War on Wildlife and if so how can we tackle it.

• Photo: Dr Ruth Tingay, Dr Mark Avery, and Chris Packham at Hen Harrier Day 2019. Image copyright Guy Shorrock and used with permission