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The test-tube cow, a bit of beaver bother, and the strings of Barbara Hepworth

James Fisher James Fisher

Plus an Arts-and-Crafts delight in the Surrey Hills and the daily quiz.

Say hello to Hilda, the climate-change fighting cow

The birth of a healthy calf in Scotland via IVF is being hailed as a mighty step forward in the fight against climate change. Farming accounts for roughly half the UK’s emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas with a stronger warming effect than carbon dioxide—and cows are a major offender, with a single animal capable of producing up to 264lb a year.

Hello Hilda. Credit: Phil Wilkinson/SRUC/PA Wire

Cow-of-the-moment Hilda is a member of the Dumfries-based Langhill herd, which has been studied by scientists for more than 50 years, investigating how breeding can improve health and, more recently, cut methane emissions. Scotland’s Rural College identifies and breeds from ‘methane-efficient’ cows that will, in turn, produce offspring with even lower emissions. What’s more, eggs are being harvested from immature animals (six to eight months old) and transferred to a surrogate mother (minimum two years old), reducing the generation interval and time taken for noticeable change to occur. Hilda is the first cow born to the herd using IVF and the first member of the 16th generation.

Alternative methods, trialled by Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi and the dairy company Arla include adding a methane-reducing powder to feed, but this needs to be done consistently to maintain benefits.

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Quiz of the day

  • 1) In which year was the Falklands War?
  • 2) What does a philatelist study or collect?
  • 3) What is the only British chart hit for which both artist and song title are palindromes?
  • 4) The spice saffron comes from which flower?
  • 5) Who was captain of the Pequod in Moby Dick?

Beaver bother

A political football? Moi? Credit: Getty

The discussion about releasing beavers into English water systems is a nuanced one, with the arguments for and against compelling. I did not expect, however, that these buck-toothed river botherers would become the latest political football in play between the Conservative and Labour parties.

As reported in the Guardian yesterday, it seems that plans to release wild beavers in England are on the back burner because officials at Downing Street view it as a ‘Tory legacy’. It’s worth noting that, when asked for comment, a government spokesperson described the story as ‘categorically untrue’ and said that the government is working with Natural England to ‘review options on species reintroduction, including beavers’.

The Guardian report relies on unnamed sources, and says that despite Natural England having drawn up a plan for the reintroduction of beavers, and it being signed off by Defra Secretary Steve Reed, it was then blocked by No 10 for reasons of it being the idea of a previous government. Indeed, Boris Johnson promised in a 2021 conference speech to ‘build back beaver’, which was certainly a more compelling promise than ‘Get Brexit Done’. 

Anyway, Natural England are apparently very cross, as are a variety of conservation charities and organisations, which have long wished for the reintroduction of the rodent due to their landscaping abilities. Those in favour of the beaver argue they make good habitat and reduce flooding. Those against them argue that they will cause more flooding, and damage productive farmland. 

Meanwhile someone, somewhere, is releasing them anyway, in a tactic known as ‘beaver bombing’ and more formally regarded as ‘rogue re-wilding’. Beavers have been popping up all over south-west England and in Scotland, and a five-year government study found that illegally released beavers on the River Otter in Devon boosted wildlife and had a positive impact on the local area. As a result, the beavers were allowed to stay.

Feel the Movement

We’ve long been a champion of the Arts-and-Crafts movement at Country Life. Our founder, Edward Hudson, was a patron of Sir Edwin Lutyens back in the day, so we hold the architectural style close to our hearts. That’s why we can’t resist writing when a fine example such as this one comes to the market.

Barb’s string sculptures

Known for her astounding stone and bronze sculptures, Barbara Hepworth is one of the nation’s most important and well known artists of the 20th century. However, she also worked with string, which is the focus of an upcoming exhibition at Piano Nobile in London from February 6. Titled B’arbara Hepworth: Strings’, the show will bring together a large collection of Hepworth’s string works, which will include pieces that haven’t been displayed to the public for more than 50 years.

Hepworth is known to us today for her adventurous use of metal and rock to break down the boundaries between space and mass, giving the same value to both,’ says curator Michael Regan. ‘Equally, as this exhibition will show, she used strings to create in her sculptures the tension between light and darkness, presence and absence, solidity and weightlessness. Most importantly, they symbolised the interconnectivity between the human figure and the landscape in a real, physical sense.’

That’s all for today, we’ll be back tomorrow

Quiz answers

  • 1) 1982
  • 2) Stamps
  • 3) SOS (ABBA)
  • 4) Crocus
  • 5) Captain Ahab