George Monbiot (The most damaging farm products? Organic, pasture-fed beef and lamb, 16 August) cites a meta-analysis showing that “when livestock are removed from the land, the abundance and diversity of almost all groups of wild animals increases”. But the same study also “observed grazing having a positive effect on plant diversity” and found that “in some environments, continued grazing is a required management technique to support native biodiversity”.
Were I to stop grazing my 8-acre holding with Jersey cows, the pastures, meadows and hedgerows – which host well over 60 species of plants, a dozen kinds of butterfly, insects ranging from dung beetles to grasshoppers, and various birds, reptiles and mammals – would be overtaken by bracken and brambles. Over time, this would presumably succeed to woodland, but in west Dorset we are already blessed with abundant tree cover.
