There’s more wildlife on industrial estates than in the countryside

Last April I took a cycle ride with my son. We went up some of the toughest hills in the area, and this is Devon we’re talking about. When Devon hills are tough, they’re tough. We were hoping to get some photo opportunities. What I found horrified me. Here’s a typical field:

Nothing had been left alive. Everything had been obliterated in an extreme ecocidal attack.

What about the hedgerows?

The hedges were next-to destroyed. All that was left was a slight hump of earth and shattered remains. It had been chopped down to a height of 30 centimetres.

What chance is there of life here? Where are the wild flowers, the insects and the birds? Where is the complex web of natural relationships? There’s more life on my local industrial estate than there is in this countryside.