0:00:26 > 0:00:28The green beating heart of Scotland.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Perthshire is big tree country.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34A land packed with high and mighty trees.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Whether they're very old or very young,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Perthshire has them all, and it doesn't stop there.
0:00:42 > 0:00:48This is reputed to be the birthplace of modern Scottish forestry too,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50thanks to some pretty savvy plant hunters.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I'll be finding out how these planters completely
0:00:53 > 0:00:55transformed this landscape.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Out along the banks of the River Tay,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02another transformation is taking place.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05This is the biggest reed bed in the United Kingdom.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08At this time of year, it's being harvested for thatching.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13But the reeds also provide sanctuary for some very special wildlife.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Tom's finding out how faith affects our food on a journey
0:01:19 > 0:01:22that takes him from the farm to the abattoir.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25The killing of animals according to religious teaching
0:01:25 > 0:01:30for halal or kosher meat supplies is controversial,
0:01:30 > 0:01:36because sometimes the animal is not stunned prior to slaughter.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38So is this practice growing
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and how do you balance the competing demands of animal welfare
0:01:42 > 0:01:46and religious freedom? I'll be investigating.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48And Adam's got his hands full.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52These are Iron Age piglets. Today I'm turning them out into the field.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55It's the first time they've ever experienced the great outdoors.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57I think they're going to love it.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11At the heart of Scotland,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Perthshire straddles the Highlands and the Lowlands.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19It's a land of remarkable natural beauty,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22captivating history and magnificent wildlife.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Scotland's longest and grandest river, the Tay, bisects Perthshire
0:02:31 > 0:02:34as it descends from the wild and rugged southern Highlands
0:02:34 > 0:02:37through heather-clad moors and rolling hills,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39to fertile farmland in the east.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Perthshire is known as big tree country, and it's easy to see why.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50It's home to some of Britain's most remarkable trees like this one,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52the Fortingall Yew.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57It's thought to be one of the oldest surviving life forms in Europe.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Nobody's sure exactly how old it is, because, as it's grown,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04it's split, and the original heartwood rings
0:03:04 > 0:03:08which would establish its true age are long gone.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11But it could be 9,000 years old,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14which means it would have been growing here
0:03:14 > 0:03:16before even the pyramids were built.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Although the trees that cover the hills around here
0:03:21 > 0:03:22are younger than that,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24some of the forest can be traced way back
0:03:24 > 0:03:28to the retreat of the ice caps at the end of the last ice age.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35This is an ancient Caledonian pine forest.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39In the past, forests like this would have blanketed the Highlands,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42but now there are just a few small pockets of them left.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47In the dim and distant past, these forests would have been home
0:03:47 > 0:03:48to wolves and bears,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51beavers and boars.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53They're long gone, but there's plenty of other flora and fauna
0:03:53 > 0:03:55that thrive here.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Rob Coope is an ecologist and forester
0:03:59 > 0:04:01from the Forestry Commission.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Rob, how good is this type of forest for the plants
0:04:04 > 0:04:05and animals that it supports?
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It's tremendous. Fantastic, really.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12As a native woodland, it's been here for 9,000 years or so,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and in that time, all of the plants and animals
0:04:15 > 0:04:17have become accustomed to one another.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Altogether, we know of about 3,500 species in this forest.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25It is, from a species point of view, it is extremely varied.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29The forest is dominated by Scots pine trees that have just been nominated
0:04:29 > 0:04:31as Scotland's national tree.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34And we have juniper and yew.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38These are the only three native conifers that we have Britain.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41We also have, in this area, a lot of birch and a lot of rowan as well.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Everywhere you look in this forest, on every tree,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47you will see lots and lots of lichen.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Altogether in the wood, we have probably 130 species of lichen.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Here's one that's very filamentous, and there's one that's very flat.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57They're incredibly diverse.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59They indicate good clean air,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02but they also indicate a very healthy biodiversity.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05There are whole series of species that live in here,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07but some of them are very, very specialised.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09One of the ones that is very characteristic
0:05:09 > 0:05:13to this type of woodland is a small beetle, a very dull-looking beetle,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15but lives only in dying pine.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Not live pine, not dead pine, but dying pine.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22It means that, every year, there has to be some dying pine in the forest.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25From an ecologist's point of view, that tells you that the forest
0:05:25 > 0:05:30is going through a continual natural process of growth and death.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33So this little dull beetle tells us
0:05:33 > 0:05:35a very important story about the forest.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Even in the middle of winter, it seems so lush and green.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41I imagine in the summer, it's, sort of, richer still, is it?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The diversity's here now - it's just that we can't see it.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Most of the insects, for instance, are all hibernating.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51They're all hiding from the Scottish weather!
0:05:54 > 0:05:56It's the weather that was responsible for wiping out
0:05:56 > 0:05:59much of the Caledonian pine forest.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Nearby Rannoch Moor, now one of the bleakest spots in Britain,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05but it wasn't always like this.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Once, it was covered with trees.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Then 4,000 years ago, a change in the climate meant
0:06:11 > 0:06:13they all disappeared.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17The only traces that remain are twisted roots in the peaty grave.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22The same thing happened within this forest here.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Someone who's investigated what happened
0:06:25 > 0:06:28is Dr Richard Tipping from the University of Stirling.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30- Hi, Richard.- Hi, there.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32- Found anything interesting? - We have.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35- What have you got? - Remnants of old pine trees.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38This is a root that's just come out. Another one there.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- And handfuls of the bark of these things as well.- Oh, wow.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45So what was it, all those all those years ago,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48that caused the trees to die out in this way?
0:06:48 > 0:06:51We think, unfortunately, that trees growing on peat bogs,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55this is an old peat bank that people have been digging for fuel.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57But around 4,000 years ago,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00it got much, much wetter, really quite quickly.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04These trees died out, because as the water table rises in the peat,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06these things can no longer take in oxygen.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09They become starved, effectively, and so they die.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13What you have is an entire forest from northern Scotland
0:07:13 > 0:07:18down into the central lowlands pretty much dying at the same time.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23So you have a snapshot of Scotland in prehistory,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25some 4,000 years ago.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27What lessons can we learn from what happened?
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Climate change happens really very rapidly.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33When we look back into prehistory,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36we can recognise these climate shifts
0:07:36 > 0:07:38are happening in less than ten years, sometimes.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41These are very substantial climate changes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- So we need to ready ourselves for change?- We do.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Otherwise, we end up like the pine trees.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Later, I'll be looking at how Perthshire
0:07:51 > 0:07:53finally reversed the trend of deforestation
0:07:53 > 0:07:56long after those devastating events,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00and what tree conservationists are doing to prepare for the future.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Now, there are fresh calls
0:08:03 > 0:08:06for meat that comes from religious slaughtering
0:08:06 > 0:08:08to be labelled in our supermarkets,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10but is there really any need?
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Tom's report contains some images you may find upsetting.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Farm animals peacefully grazing by a lake.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24An idyllic view of British agriculture.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29But these sheep won't be here for much longer.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32It's not a subject that most of us like to dwell on,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35but we all know where most of these sheep are going to end up,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37and that's the slaughterhouse.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42For almost every one of the animals that end up on our dinner plate,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45the process of slaughter is pretty much the same.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48They're first stunned and then killed straight afterwards,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50dying through blood loss.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53So, in the case of sheep like these, they're rendered unconscious,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57usually by an electrical stunning device, before the main blood
0:08:57 > 0:08:59vessels in their neck are severed.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02But on that journey from farm to fork,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06when it comes to Jewish kosher meat or Islamic halal,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09prepared in accordance with religious teachings,
0:09:09 > 0:09:15the last few moments of the animal's life are clouded by controversy.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20So what is it about halal and kosher meat
0:09:20 > 0:09:23that provokes such contentious debate?
0:09:23 > 0:09:26We're very keen to see the slaughter process for ourselves,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28but many abattoirs aren't that enthusiastic
0:09:28 > 0:09:30about letting the cameras in.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33But here, at the biggest Muslim-owned slaughterhouse in Europe,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37they did open the doors, because they say they've got nothing to hide.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Rizvan Khalid's abattoir is capable of processing
0:09:43 > 0:09:4615,000 carcasses per week,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50and he says animal welfare is his main priority.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Why have you felt comfortable to let us in here?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56What we wanted to do, really, is just to be open and transparent
0:09:56 > 0:09:58and show people how things are done.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00And the sheep look pretty relaxed -
0:10:00 > 0:10:02they're not sort of bleating or banging a lot in here, are they?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Yes, we've done a lot of work to try to make sure the environment
0:10:06 > 0:10:08is conducive to the sheep's natural behaviours
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and to slaughter them in the best possible way.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Well, we better go through and see that slaughter process for ourselves.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Yeah, on you go.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21There is very little difference between what is happening here
0:10:21 > 0:10:23and in most other abattoirs in Britain.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26The animals are let in, stunned with an electric charge, and then,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30seconds later, the slaughterman severs the vital blood vessels
0:10:30 > 0:10:32with a cut to the neck.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37What makes this halal is that a practising Muslim
0:10:37 > 0:10:40is slaughtering the animal uttering the Tasmiyya,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42an Islamic prayer.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46HE PRAYS IN ARABIC
0:10:46 > 0:10:51The whole process lasts probably 15 seconds, if that.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53And what you're seeing here,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55with the exception of the blessing part,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58pretty much is the same for any joint that would end up
0:10:58 > 0:11:00on your Sunday table.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06And what is the purpose of the prayer?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08The purpose of the prayer from a halal perspective is
0:11:08 > 0:11:11that we cannot kill animals for no reason.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13We're slaughtering animals over here for food
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and we have to have the permission of God to enable us to do that.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Without the prayer, the animal's not halal.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21And what is actually different between what's going on here
0:11:21 > 0:11:25- and a mainstream slaughterhouse? - Besides the blessing, nothing.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30What we have seen so far is the norm for around 84% of halal slaughter,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35but what's causing the controversy is what happens to the remaining 16%,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39animals which are killed without being stunned first.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42This is done because some Muslims interpret the religious text
0:11:42 > 0:11:46to mean that animals have to be fully conscious when slaughtered,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50partly to ensure they hear the Islamic prayer as they die.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55It's an issue that's pitted religious rights against animal welfare.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Here, just a small number of animals are not stunned.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01So the next sheep coming through,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04they're going to slaughter without stunning.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09The animal's head is held back, the knife goes in, the blessing is said.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Yeah, it was conscious at the point when its throat was cut,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15but it was very, very quick.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Of course, I can't tell what's going on in the brain of that animal,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21but in terms of speed, at least, it was pretty much the same.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28It's thought less than a fifth of all halal sheep meat
0:12:28 > 0:12:30is slaughtered without stunning.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32But it's not just an issue for Islam.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36In the Jewish faith, for meat to be considered kosher,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39every animal has to be conscious at the point of slaughter.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44'John Blackwell,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'President-Elect of the British Veterinary Association,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51'believes whether halal or kosher, killing any animal
0:12:51 > 0:12:55'without stunning is an unnecessary compromise to welfare.'
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Why do you think it's cruel not to stun animals?
0:12:58 > 0:13:02All the evidence shows that animals that aren't stunned prior
0:13:02 > 0:13:04to slaughter don't immediately lose consciousness,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08so therefore, they are sensible, they can feel pain,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12they can feel stimulation, and that process goes on for anything...
0:13:12 > 0:13:15five, six seconds before they actually lose consciousness.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17There's some research that's come out of New Zealand
0:13:17 > 0:13:21where they've anaesthetised animals and checked their brain activity
0:13:21 > 0:13:22by electroencephalograms,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26what we use in human medicine to show brain death.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28And this quite clearly shows
0:13:28 > 0:13:30that there is increased electrical activity
0:13:30 > 0:13:33within the brain before that period of unconsciousness comes.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36- So what do you think should happen now?- Well, ideally,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39we'd like to see an end of the practice of non-stunned slaughter
0:13:39 > 0:13:42throughout the UK and all animals to be slaughtered
0:13:42 > 0:13:45effectively stunned prior to slaughter.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47An animal welfare in this case trumps religious sensibility?
0:13:47 > 0:13:48Absolutely.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51It's not just the British Veterinary Association
0:13:51 > 0:13:53that thinks it's unacceptable.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57So too do bodies like Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59And they're not alone.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04As of February, the lawmakers in Denmark banned religious slaughter
0:14:04 > 0:14:07without prior stunning, joining the likes of Norway,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden and Poland.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13But there are no plans to follow suit here.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'Nadeem Adam, from the Halal Monitoring Committee,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19'is one of those in the Muslim community that believes
0:14:19 > 0:14:22'only non-stunned animals can be truly halal.'
0:14:23 > 0:14:24From an Islamic perspective,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27it's obviously important that the animal is alive
0:14:27 > 0:14:29and conscious at the point of slaughter.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31First and foremost,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33so the animal is blessed, and it can hear the words of God
0:14:33 > 0:14:37before it departs this world, and, more importantly,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40if an animal is stunned, there has been research
0:14:40 > 0:14:43and there have been instances where animals are found to be dead
0:14:43 > 0:14:46prior to slaughter and if this was to enter the supply chain
0:14:46 > 0:14:48and a Muslim was to consume it,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51it wouldn't actually be...it wouldn't be halal for them to do so.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53But do you not think, you know,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55stunned halal might be a good compromise
0:14:55 > 0:14:58with the majority culture of Britain,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00which does worry a great deal about animal welfare?
0:15:00 > 0:15:02I think, when it comes to religion,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04I don't think there is a compromise, unfortunately.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Purely because the laws of the land here, in the UK,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10allow the Muslim community, and the Jewish community,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12to practise religious slaughter,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15and we're only practising what rights we have here.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Whilst Nadeem's interpretation of what is truly halal
0:15:20 > 0:15:23is shared by just some Muslims,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26in the Jewish faith, for meat to be considered kosher,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29it is essential that all animals are fully conscious when killed.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Shimon Cohen is Campaign Director of Shechita UK,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38a group set up to promote awareness of the Jewish slaughter method.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42The whole process of slaughtering animals within the Jewish tradition
0:15:42 > 0:15:45begins well before the last two seconds of the animal's life.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47This begins at birth, on the farm.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50We're biblically commanded to be good to animals,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53they are God's creatures. We have to look after them,
0:15:53 > 0:15:54we have to be concerned about the way
0:15:54 > 0:15:56that they're brought up on the farm,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58we have to be very concerned about their transportation.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01We have to be concerned about the whole life of the animal,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03not just the last two seconds of the animal's life.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Do you not accept that some form of anaesthetical stunning
0:16:06 > 0:16:09- prior to having your throat cut would be less painful?- No.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Mechanical stunning methods, so well-loved by the animal
0:16:12 > 0:16:15welfare lobby, actually go wrong very, very many times.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And the European Food Standards Agency is very troubled
0:16:17 > 0:16:19with some of the mechanical stunning methods.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22There's very little that can go wrong in the Shechita method
0:16:22 > 0:16:24when you have a highly trained slaughterman,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26a very sharp blade and an animal.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33But this isn't just an issue about how meat is prepared
0:16:33 > 0:16:35for religious communities.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39It's hard enough to balance the competing demands of animal welfare
0:16:39 > 0:16:43and religious tradition within the kosher and halal market,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45but there's also another problem -
0:16:45 > 0:16:48it's believed that much non-stunned meat
0:16:48 > 0:16:51is being sold to people who don't know anything about it
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and definitely wouldn't welcome it on their dinner plates.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57What's being done about that? I'll be finding out later.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06JOHN: The mighty estuary of the River Tay,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10where Scotland's longest river finally meets the sea.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14At two miles wide,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18it carries more water than the Thames and the Severn put together.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22The Tay is perhaps best known for its superb salmon fishing,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26but here, at the estuary, it's also renowned for this -
0:17:26 > 0:17:31the largest continuous stretch of reed bed in the UK.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Running for nearly ten miles along the north bank,
0:17:35 > 0:17:40these reeds act as a natural barrier shielding the fertile
0:17:40 > 0:17:43agricultural land beyond them from erosion.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45But they don't just protect the land,
0:17:45 > 0:17:50they're also a haven for birds and they're good for providing thatch.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'Graham Craig has been harvesting the reeds for 40 years,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58'and today, I'm here to see how he does it.'
0:17:58 > 0:18:01- Is this a good time of the year to be harvesting?- It is, yes.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03It's the only time of the year we can harvest.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07The reed is dry, the leaf is off, and there's no nesting birds,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- so it's the perfect time for us. - It's an intriguing-looking machine.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- It is indeed.- Can I come on board? - You can.- Right.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38What's going to happen to this reed now, then, Graham?
0:18:38 > 0:18:41All the reed we're harvesting will go for thatching.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44- And is there still a big demand then for it?- There is, yes.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46For the amount we harvest here,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49cos we're now not harvesting on a commercial basis,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52we're harvesting for the conservation purposes, so we are...
0:18:52 > 0:18:54So this is a kind of side product now, then.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55- This is...- ..for the thatching.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58For the RSPB, this is a side product for them. Yes, aha.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Why is it important then to keep cutting down the reed?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Different birds like different types of habitat.
0:19:05 > 0:19:06As we come down the bed,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09you would see different areas that I've uncut,
0:19:09 > 0:19:10so we do it on a six-year rotation.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13After the six years... start the cycle again.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16So the different birds like the different densities of the reed.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20And that way, you maintain this wonderful open reed landscape.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- Yes, exactly. - And make a bit of money as well.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27And make a bit of money for the RSPB at the same time.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32As well as thatch, reed beds offer something very special.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Here, you'll find some impressive wetland wildlife.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44In particular, these reed beds are the home
0:19:44 > 0:19:47of two species of bird which are pretty rare in this country.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51And I want to find out a little bit more about them.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54They're the elusive water rail and the bearded tit,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58and someone who knows their favourite haunts is Steve Moyes
0:19:58 > 0:20:00of the Tay Ringing Group.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04How do you find these birds in these dense reeds?
0:20:04 > 0:20:08With bearded tits, we use various methods. We plays tapes
0:20:08 > 0:20:10and we trap them in nets,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and we ring them and measure them.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17And the water rail, we play tapes and the pairs respond,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- and we can count them from that. - Have you got the tape there?- I do.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25SHRILL BIRD CALL PLAYS
0:20:25 > 0:20:27It's a pig-like bellow that they have.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30A "pig-like bellow"! I like that!
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Aye.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36BIRDS CALL There's a response.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Yes, they're calling now. It's the pair.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40- They'll move together. - How far away will they be?
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Perhaps eight or nine metres.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44It's very rare to actually see them.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- That's the frustrating bit.- Yeah.- You set up this sound ambush for them,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50you can hear them, but you can't see them.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53What does that tell you, that sound?
0:20:53 > 0:20:54Well, it tells you they're on territory,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57and it's a good territory, and they want to protect it.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00And from now on, there will be more and more pairs come in,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and there will be a lot of territorial squabbling and disputes.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06And they are quite aggressive birds, aren't they?
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Oh, yes. They're incredibly feisty birds.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13They have very sharp claws and very sharp bills,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15and they'll take eggs and take chicks of others.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18They probably take bearded tits quite often!
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It looks to me as though you're putting out extra food for them.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27No, it's not food. It's grit for the bearded tits.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Why do they need grit?
0:21:29 > 0:21:32The bearded tits, they change their diet around September, October time.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36And they change from invertebrates to eating reed seed.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40They need the grit in their gizzard to help them grind the seed down.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42If they didn't have the grit, they'd starve.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44They wouldn't be able to feed.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Just tell me a little bit about their lifestyle.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48They're hatched in the reeds, they stay in the reeds.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50They feed in the reeds.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53They're very mobile. They move along the whole of the reed bed.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56They're very unusual in that it seems they pair up
0:21:56 > 0:21:58when they're still juveniles.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01And why are they called bearded tits,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03cos it looks to me, from their markings,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07- to be more of a moustache? - It's just the old name for them -
0:22:07 > 0:22:08bearded tits.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11They're not really a tit. They're a member of the reedling family.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14- Really?- Yes.- So they've got the wrong name all round, then?- Yeah!
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Now, as we've heard, the slaughter of animals without stunning,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29for religious reasons, is highly contentious.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32But there are more controversial claims
0:22:32 > 0:22:34about who this meat is being sold to.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Tom's film contains some distressing images.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44Every year in the UK, it's estimated as many as 35 million animals
0:22:44 > 0:22:49could be slaughtered without stunning for the Muslim and Jewish markets.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52It's created an emotional debate that puts animal welfare
0:22:52 > 0:22:56up against the right of religious freedom.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59But this isn't just an issue about how the meat is prepared
0:22:59 > 0:23:01for those religious communities.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06The RSPCA and the British Veterinary Association
0:23:06 > 0:23:11claim that a significant proportion of meat killed without pre-stunning
0:23:11 > 0:23:15is being sold to people who aren't Muslim or Jewish,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17without their knowledge.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21So, should we be worried that people outside
0:23:21 > 0:23:23the Muslim and Jewish communities
0:23:23 > 0:23:26are eating meat from animals that are fully conscious
0:23:26 > 0:23:28at the time of slaughter?
0:23:28 > 0:23:32John Blackwell is President-Elect of the British Veterinary Association.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35He believes it's clear from the statistics
0:23:35 > 0:23:37that more non-stunned meat is being produced
0:23:37 > 0:23:40than the Muslim and Jewish communities
0:23:40 > 0:23:42can consume by themselves.
0:23:42 > 0:23:43John, if I can just bounce a quote
0:23:43 > 0:23:46from the British Veterinary Association off you. You say,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49"It's clear that a significant proportion of sheep and goat meat
0:23:49 > 0:23:52"from non-stunned slaughter is going outside the communities
0:23:52 > 0:23:54"for which it was intended
0:23:54 > 0:23:56"because of its convenience for the food sector,"
0:23:56 > 0:23:58i.e., it's going to general market.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00What facts and figures do you have to back that up?
0:24:00 > 0:24:03I think, if you look at the amount of animals
0:24:03 > 0:24:06that are non-stunned slaughtered on a weekly basis,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09it's something like 4% of cattle, 10% of sheep
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and 4% of poultry.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14If you hang some numbers on those,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16you're looking at 1,300-1,400 cattle a week,
0:24:16 > 0:24:2030,000 sheep a week and about 640,000 poultry a week.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23So then if you ramp that up into an annual figure,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26I think it becomes quite clear that those amounts of animals
0:24:26 > 0:24:28that are slaughtered non-stun
0:24:28 > 0:24:31are supplying other than the market that they're intended to.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33We've spoken to the Big Six supermarkets,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35some of the restaurant chains, like Nando's and KFC,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and they say they don't do it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40I'm not suggesting that it's 50% or 60%,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42but a portion of that meat
0:24:42 > 0:24:46- is going into the general market. - You're confident of that?
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Absolutely. If it's not labelled,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and there's no legal requirement to label "non-stunned" or "stunned",
0:24:52 > 0:24:54then how do we know which is which?
0:24:56 > 0:24:59But the statistical argument is complicated
0:24:59 > 0:25:00and very difficult to prove,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04partly because only some Muslims eat non-stunned meat,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07but also because they tend to eat more red meat
0:25:07 > 0:25:09than the rest of the population.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12However, there is reason to believe
0:25:12 > 0:25:14that some Jewish kosher meat,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17all of which is slaughtered when the animal is fully conscious,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20is making its way into the general food chain.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26Following Jewish teaching, rabbis in the UK have said
0:25:26 > 0:25:30that only the forequarters of land animals can be considered kosher.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33So that leaves the back end as forbidden,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35and that's where many of the prime cuts are,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37like the leg or loin on a sheep,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41or the rump, sirloin and flank on a cow.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46So while kosher meat as a whole makes up
0:25:46 > 0:25:50less than 0.5 % of all the meat produced in the UK,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53it seems likely that some of these choice cuts
0:25:53 > 0:25:55are making their way into the mainstream.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00The question is, what can be done to make things more transparent?
0:26:00 > 0:26:03For some, there is a solution - labelling.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09That would mean however the meat was killed,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11we would all know what we're buying.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16'There are currently no legal requirements to label meat
0:26:16 > 0:26:19'either "stunned" or "un-stunned",
0:26:19 > 0:26:21'but abattoir owner Rizvan Khalid,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25'who we met earlier, wants greater transparency,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27'and believes all religiously slaughtered meat
0:26:27 > 0:26:29'should be labelled.'
0:26:29 > 0:26:31They're all for export, these?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34'He is part of a sheep industry consultation,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37'which could lead to the introduction of widespread halal labelling
0:26:37 > 0:26:39'on a voluntary basis.'
0:26:39 > 0:26:42What do you think of the idea of labelling meat so people know
0:26:42 > 0:26:44whether it's stunned or non-stunned?
0:26:44 > 0:26:46As a general principle, it's good for consumers
0:26:46 > 0:26:49to have the information they need to make a choice.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52The vast majority of halal slaughter is stunned anyway.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It'll give people that assurance that it's gone through
0:26:54 > 0:26:56with either the halal stunned mark
0:26:56 > 0:26:59or a red tractor mark or something similar,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01so they'll know that it's been stunned.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Certainly the labelling of non-stunned meat
0:27:04 > 0:27:07could go some way to satisfying the organisations
0:27:07 > 0:27:09that have concerns over welfare,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12like the British Veterinary Association and the RSPCA.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17But others don't see why halal and kosher meat
0:27:17 > 0:27:19should be singled out.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24Shimon Cohen is from the Jewish campaign group Shechita UK.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28He thinks if non-stunned meat is to be labelled,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30then all meat packaging should make clear
0:27:30 > 0:27:32how the animals were slaughtered.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37We believe that labelling is hugely important,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39to give customers information.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42We believe that the British people - in fact, European people -
0:27:42 > 0:27:44should be aware whether their meat was gassed.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47They should be aware whether their chickens were electrocuted.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49They should be aware whether their cows were shot,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51possibly even how many times the cow was shot
0:27:51 > 0:27:53with a captive bolt before the stun took.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56And yes, indeed, we believe that things should be labelled "kosher"
0:27:56 > 0:27:59so that the Jewish people know exactly where to buy their product.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01So what you're saying is, if you put "stunned" on it,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03you'd have to put all these other things on it
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- that you believe are relevant to the welfare of the animal?- Of course.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09The consumer must have the right to know. It seems incongruous
0:28:09 > 0:28:12to presuppose that you have the right to know how I killed my meat,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14but I don't have the right to know how you killed yours.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20The arguments I've heard go to the heart of the debate
0:28:20 > 0:28:23about transparency on the journey from farm to fork.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28The government say consumers should be able to make an informed choice
0:28:28 > 0:28:30but are waiting for results from a European survey,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33expected to be published soon,
0:28:33 > 0:28:35before deciding on labelling.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38But objective decisions are always going to be difficult
0:28:38 > 0:28:41when you try to balance welfare against the right
0:28:41 > 0:28:45of people to follow their religious convictions.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49The majority of meat slaughtered under religious guidance
0:28:49 > 0:28:52is stunned, but a growing percentage isn't.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55The question for the authorities and for people
0:28:55 > 0:28:57who care about animal welfare is,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59do we have the right to know the difference,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and how on earth do we fit all the relevant information
0:29:02 > 0:29:05on a single pack?
0:29:10 > 0:29:15We heard earlier how climate change killed off most of Scotland's trees
0:29:15 > 0:29:19about 4,000 years ago. After that,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24man cut down almost all of those that remained for fuel and timber.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28But look around Perthshire today, and trees dominate the landscape.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31If Perthshire is big tree country,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33then this part of it, Dunkeld,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36is REALLY big tree country.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39This whopping great Douglas fir
0:29:39 > 0:29:43has a bigger girth than any other in Britain,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46and it's pretty tall as well.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Perthshire also has Britain's tallest sitka spruce,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53its tallest Japanese larch,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57its widest conifer, its tallest hedge,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00and this was its tallest Colorado silver fir
0:30:00 > 0:30:03until it fell down. So how did Perthshire go
0:30:03 > 0:30:07from no trees to big trees?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10The secret is things like this.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12This is a sugar pine cone,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15and it comes all the way from California.
0:30:18 > 0:30:19In the 18th century,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution
0:30:22 > 0:30:24and a rapidly increasing population
0:30:24 > 0:30:27led the drive to make more land productive.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30One way to do that was to plant trees.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46But it wasn't just native trees that they were planting.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Young men were sent to far-flung corners of the planet
0:30:49 > 0:30:51to try and find trees that would thrive
0:30:51 > 0:30:53in Scottish conditions.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57One of those men had that tree named after him.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01He was David Douglas, and that big boy there
0:31:01 > 0:31:04is a Douglas fir.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Douglas was a young Perthshire gardener
0:31:06 > 0:31:09sent by the Royal Horticultural Society
0:31:09 > 0:31:13to the new uncharted frontier in the Pacific Northwest of America,
0:31:13 > 0:31:18to collect the seeds of potentially useful plants and send them home.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Syd House from the Forestry Commission
0:31:20 > 0:31:22has written a book about Douglas.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27Syd, it must have been an enormous undertaking
0:31:27 > 0:31:29to head off to the other side of the world,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- a pretty much unknown journey, to collect these seeds?- Oh, yeah.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37Well, yes. The average life expectancy of a plant hunter
0:31:37 > 0:31:40- was one year...- Yeah?- ..because it was such a dangerous thing.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42You were often accompanying the very first Europeans
0:31:42 > 0:31:44to explore these areas.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47He managed to bring back the seeds from these incredible trees
0:31:47 > 0:31:49which are towering above us.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51How on earth did he get to the seeds?
0:31:51 > 0:31:53The seed on these trees is right, right at the top.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57And also, in that part of the world, you have a huge number
0:31:57 > 0:32:01of squirrels and other rodents that eat lots of seed.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03So, unlike here, where you can often pick up
0:32:03 > 0:32:05- a cone like this...- Still intact.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Once it warms up in the spring, you'll find
0:32:08 > 0:32:09that opens, and the seed comes out.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12In that part of the world, the seed generally opens,
0:32:12 > 0:32:13the cone generally opens on the tree,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and the seed falls down and disperses.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Sometimes he'd find a stash that maybe a squirrel had made.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21One of the other ways he did it was to get a shotgun,
0:32:21 > 0:32:23which he always carried with him,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- and just shoot down branches from the top of the tree.- Wow!
0:32:26 > 0:32:29And the branches held the cones, with the seed still intact,
0:32:29 > 0:32:30and he would extract the seed.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32He must have been a good shot.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34- That's pretty impressive. - Absolutely.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36What about his legacy? You mentioned other plants.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38How substantial is his legacy?
0:32:38 > 0:32:43Well, he brought back seeds from 800 different species,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46of which 240-odd were new to the British Isles.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Were there any surprises that we assume are native British plants
0:32:49 > 0:32:51- that he brought back?- Quite a lot.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53If you walk round any suburban garden,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56you'll find David Douglas introductions all over the place.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00Lupins, or the flowering currant, or mahonia.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04These are absolutely typical spring shrubs,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07and they're Douglas introductions and they're common
0:33:07 > 0:33:09to any suburban garden or, indeed,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11very often many municipal planting schemes
0:33:11 > 0:33:13- round about our towns and cities.- Incredible.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16So, little did we know, his legacy goes on in our gardens today.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20That legacy can be seen in the grounds
0:33:20 > 0:33:23of some of our great country houses,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25like this one which belong to the Dukes of Atholl,
0:33:25 > 0:33:29where some of the original trees still survive.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32And this is one of them.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36It's the sole survivor of a group of larches from the Austrian Alps,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39planted nearly 200 years ago.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42But its millions of descendents can be seen
0:33:42 > 0:33:46in the larch plantations that cover the hills all around here.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Two centuries on,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53modern-day plant hunters are following in the footsteps
0:33:53 > 0:33:57of those pioneers. The iCONic Project aims to help save
0:33:57 > 0:34:00some of the world's rarest and most remarkable trees
0:34:00 > 0:34:03by growing them in safe havens here in Perthshire,
0:34:03 > 0:34:07sometimes in the same spots used by the Dukes of Atholl
0:34:07 > 0:34:10all those years ago.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12I'm now going to make my mark on history by planting
0:34:12 > 0:34:15one of those threatened tree species.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19It doesn't look very big yet, but it will be. This is a giant redwood.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23Thankfully, I've got a bit of expert help to plant it.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Tom Christian is a modern-day plant hunter,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28working for the iCONic Project.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31- How are you doing, Tom? - Good, thank you.- Good.- And you?
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Good, very good. It's really protected, isn't it, in here?
0:34:34 > 0:34:36- It is. It has to be.- Why?
0:34:36 > 0:34:39All sorts of reasons - people, deer,
0:34:39 > 0:34:40tractors, cars, you name it.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43So you're going to shower it with love, then, this one?
0:34:43 > 0:34:46- Absolutely.- I like the sound of that. Is that deep enough?
0:34:46 > 0:34:49- Let's just put the pot in and see. - Let's have a lookie, there.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51That's about right, because there's a bit of a gap here.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- Oh, there is.- We should be OK. - Fabulous.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56So tell me a bit about this plant... or tree.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00This is a giant redwood grown from seed collected
0:35:00 > 0:35:04by some colleagues of ours in California in 2011.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07So it was a seedling at the beginning of 2012,
0:35:07 > 0:35:11so this is just two years old, so really fast-growing.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And this is part of a series of plantings we're doing all over
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Perthshire, and we are hoping that in 150 years' time,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20it will look a bit like that one there.
0:35:20 > 0:35:21Wow! It's quite mind-blowing -
0:35:21 > 0:35:24that sends your brain a bit screwy for a while, doesn't it?
0:35:24 > 0:35:26It's worth touching on here that the general sort
0:35:26 > 0:35:31of sentiment in conservation is that one doesn't bring
0:35:31 > 0:35:33non-natives to other countries.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35How does that work out in that context?
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Well, there are two approaches to conservation - there is
0:35:38 > 0:35:41in-situ conservation, conserving something where it belongs,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43like the giant redwood in California.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45And there is ex-situ conservation, which is
0:35:45 > 0:35:49taking something out of its native range and conserving it elsewhere.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52And because of all the various threats
0:35:52 > 0:35:55to species across the planet, it is becoming increasingly
0:35:55 > 0:35:58necessary to combine those two approaches and have a safety net.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03It is really hard to imagine that something
0:36:03 > 0:36:07so small that was planted here today by our hands is going to turn
0:36:07 > 0:36:11into this beautiful giant redwood behind us.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14And I'm obviously not going to be around to see that,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17and neither are my children. Maybe my grandchildren.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19I'd like to think they would do,
0:36:19 > 0:36:21but even if THEY don't come along and see it,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25I'd like to think that someone could walk past this and think well of us
0:36:25 > 0:36:29for taking the time to put it in the ground in the first place.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40JOHN: Early signs of spring are welcome ones.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49The sight of seasonal newborns gladdens even the hardest heart.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55They might be cute,
0:36:55 > 0:36:59but Adam's new arrivals are certainly keeping him on his toes.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10This shed is at the heart of the farm at the moment,
0:37:10 > 0:37:12because we are in the middle of lambing and kidding.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15This is a little goat kid. How cute is that?
0:37:15 > 0:37:18This one is super friendly and quite noisy.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Sheep and goats are unlike most farm animals,
0:37:20 > 0:37:22in that they are seasonal, so they give birth in the spring
0:37:22 > 0:37:26when the weather is warming up and the grass is starting to grow.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29We lamb them indoors for convenience, so we can keep
0:37:29 > 0:37:31a close eye on them and so they are in the warm and the dry.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35When we come into the shed, what we do is scan our eye
0:37:35 > 0:37:38over the flock to see if there are any signs of anything giving birth.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40What you are looking for is a sheep that is restless.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Quite often, they'll move to the corner,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45they'll lie down and stand up and go round and round in circles.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48They might be licking their lips in anticipation of licking
0:37:48 > 0:37:51the newborn lamb, before they lie down and go into labour.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54I've just come into the shed now. Just looking across them
0:37:54 > 0:37:58quickly, there's nothing obviously restless or about to give birth.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00There's a few jobs to do, but first of all,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02I'm just going to feed them.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14Come on, girls.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30So this is an 18% ewe nut.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32It's full of all the essential vitamins
0:38:32 > 0:38:35and minerals they need, and we put a few beans in with it as well.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38It is really important that ewes get the right nutrition now
0:38:38 > 0:38:42to grow the lambs inside them and produce plenty of milk as well.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49I now just feed the individual pens.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52We feed them on these bucket lids, so that they can
0:38:52 > 0:38:55find their breakfast and we know they've eaten it.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57Here you go, missus.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02'These sheds need manning 24/7,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05'so we employ extra staff at this time of year.'
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- Hi, Becca.- Hi. - Got a new one there?- Yeah.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- Are you just popping it in the pens, are you?- Yeah.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15- OK, I'll do the gates for you. - OK, thank you.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17'Rebecca Mann is an agricultural student
0:39:17 > 0:39:20'who's helping out during this busy period.'
0:39:21 > 0:39:24- So what do you want - iodine first?- Yeah.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28So Rebecca holds it by its two front feet. That doesn't hurt it at all.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32She's just putting iodine on its navel to stop any infection.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35The umbilical cord is attached to the mother to get all its oxygen
0:39:35 > 0:39:39and food while it's inside her womb. That breaks naturally at birth.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43Then a bit of medicine that goes into its stomach to stop it getting
0:39:43 > 0:39:49any tummy bugs. And now Becca's just checking the ewe's udder.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53They need lots of colostrum, the first milk that a ewe produces.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55The lamb needs to get plenty of that in the first few hours of life.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58- Has she got some there? - Yes. She's got plenty.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02- So have you always wanted to be a farmer?- Yep. I love the lifestyle.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04- You're your own boss. - And what about the late nights?
0:40:04 > 0:40:08Because obviously...lambing, up in the middle of the night...?
0:40:08 > 0:40:09It's only for a short time, so...
0:40:09 > 0:40:12You get to see things like this, so it's good.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15For farmers like us, it's great having students who can come
0:40:15 > 0:40:17and help, but also it's a great learning place for them
0:40:17 > 0:40:20to get the experience when they go out into the workplace.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22Everybody wants young people coming into farming,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24but you need some experience behind you.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28It's great to have Rebecca - she's very good. Nice one.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30- OK, I'll leave you to it. - OK, thanks.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36This nanny goat has given birth without me even noticing.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38I was in the other shed.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42And they generally get on with birthing very happily by themselves.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45She's popped out two lovely little kids.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48And they're both females.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50She's quite a pale Golden Guernsey.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53The kids are more like their dad, who's that dark golden colour.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55She's mothering them very well.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58They're born wet and sloppy because of all the birth waters,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00and she's now licking them dry
0:41:00 > 0:41:02and encouraging them to get to their feet.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05She's a lovely mum. I'll just leave her to it for the time being.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14While the lambs and kids are in need of our full-time
0:41:14 > 0:41:17attention at the moment, the pigs are less demanding.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22These are my lovely Tamworths. This is the boar.
0:41:22 > 0:41:23I'll let them out for a bit
0:41:23 > 0:41:26of fresh air, get them into the sunshine so you can see them.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29Here we are. Have some breakfast.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31They're really lovely pigs.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34We've had them on the farm since the 1970s, but back then,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37they were in very low numbers in the country. Down to just 17 boars.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41And previously, we'd exported them all over
0:41:41 > 0:41:42the world, to Canada and Australia,
0:41:42 > 0:41:44and when my dad was out in Australia,
0:41:44 > 0:41:48he made some enquiries for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust
0:41:48 > 0:41:51and ended up importing two boars back to this country
0:41:51 > 0:41:54to freshen up the bloodlines and get them breeding again.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56And since then, more have been imported
0:41:56 > 0:41:58and now they're doing a lot better.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02And Dad has always been very proud of his Tamworths.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07It's a good job he did rescue them, as they proved to be very useful.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11In 1973, my dad, Joe, crossbred them to produce a new type of pig,
0:42:11 > 0:42:15the Iron Age, that made a special appearance on the BBC's
0:42:15 > 0:42:17Animal Magic with Johnny Morris.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23- Hello, Joe.- Hello, Johnny.- Now, they are rather special, aren't they?
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Well, they are. She is descended from an original cross that
0:42:26 > 0:42:30I made between a wild boar from London Zoo and a Tamworth sow.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34And in the four or five generations since,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I've been selecting for a pig that looks like a wild boar
0:42:37 > 0:42:41but is domesticated and tame and that we can handle.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43- She seems to be a very amenable mother.- Yes, she is.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47But if we picked up one of those piglets and it screamed,
0:42:47 > 0:42:49we'd have to make a quick exit.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53I've carried on breeding them on the farm, and like my dad said,
0:42:53 > 0:42:55they're very good mothers.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57I need to load these up now to turn them out into the field.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00This sow has had seven piglets.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02But if you catch a piglet while the sow is in there,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05she will attack you and bite you, and they've got very sharp teeth.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09I had a big boar on the farm once that attacked a bull.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Extraordinary to see a bull and a boar fighting.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15So what I'm going to do is try and load the sow away
0:43:15 > 0:43:18from her piglets into the trailer, get her secure, then go
0:43:18 > 0:43:20and catch the piglets nice and safely
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and put them in the back of the truck and take them up to the field.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Hey... Got her.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52PIGLETS SQUEAL
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Ooh, little piggy!
0:44:02 > 0:44:04Some of them are born stripy like the wild boar,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07this camouflage colouring.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08Really lovely.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Shush, shush, shush!
0:44:19 > 0:44:22You'll be back with your mummy soon.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29There we go.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32You can hear the sow grunting away in here, calling her piglets.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Wonderful maternal instinct she's got,
0:44:35 > 0:44:37and she'll be reunited with them soon.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40Thankfully, we've got them all loaded, and I haven't got bitten.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Right, let's get you unloaded.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Three little pigs.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14There, there, there. Go on, go on, go on. They're in there.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16There's a good girl.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22The sow's gone straight in to see the piglets and is talking
0:45:22 > 0:45:25to them and reassuring them that everything's OK.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27And now she's come out,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30and they're just venturing outside for the first time,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32poking their little noses out of the hutch.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35And as soon as they come out, it's noses down, investigating
0:45:35 > 0:45:38with their little mouths, chewing on bits of mud,
0:45:38 > 0:45:41just discovering what the great outdoors is all about.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47And they're communicating all the time, her lovely low grunts
0:45:47 > 0:45:49just encouraging them.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51And when they get a little bit too far away,
0:45:51 > 0:45:54like they are now, she'll give them a big grunt,
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and they'll come running over to her and catch up and say,
0:45:57 > 0:45:59"It's OK, Mum, we're here! We're here!"
0:45:59 > 0:46:00Great communication.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11While the piglets settle into their new home, for another
0:46:11 > 0:46:15of my animals, things haven't turned out quite how I'd hoped.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17This is Eric, my lovely Highland bull
0:46:17 > 0:46:19that I bought a couple of years ago up in Oban.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23And I would have kept him on the farm for about four or five years
0:46:23 > 0:46:27to breed females from him, but sadly, he got
0:46:27 > 0:46:30a couple of different diseases and had some trauma
0:46:30 > 0:46:33to his reproductive area and is now infertile,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36so he can't get the cows in calf, so he's got to go.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39And in a commercial system, what you do is generally send him
0:46:39 > 0:46:42for beef, that's what most farmers would do,
0:46:42 > 0:46:44but because he's a bit of a nation's favourite,
0:46:44 > 0:46:46and lots of Countryfile viewers have got to know him
0:46:46 > 0:46:48and have been writing in, concerned about him,
0:46:48 > 0:46:51I've decided to be a bit soft and retire him.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55And my sister, who's got a field a half a dozen miles away,
0:46:55 > 0:46:57has very kindly offered to keep him.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59And I'll send him over there with a couple of steers,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02a couple of beef animals to keep him company.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05Then you can live out your days over there, can't you, mate?
0:47:05 > 0:47:07He loves to have a back scratch.
0:47:07 > 0:47:08Ooh, is that lovely?
0:47:08 > 0:47:13And what I'm going to do now is go bull shopping and find
0:47:13 > 0:47:15a replacement, hopefully as good,
0:47:15 > 0:47:17if not better, than this lovely old boy.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34I'm in Perthshire, right in the middle of Scotland.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38It's a place of mountains and moors, lochs and glens,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42forests and farms. With all these different habitats on offer,
0:47:42 > 0:47:47the number of different species of wildlife here is astonishing.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49And now there's one more.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52It's an animal that hasn't been seen in the wilds of Scotland
0:47:52 > 0:47:55for centuries. They can be a bit shy,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58but I'm going to see what I can do to find one.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00I'm looking for beavers.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09'To the west of here in Argyll,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11'beavers have been reintroduced
0:48:11 > 0:48:14'in an official and closely monitored trial,
0:48:14 > 0:48:16'but here in Tayside, that's not the case.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18'Here, they really are running wild.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23'Helen Dickinson is going to help me look for them.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26'She's the project officer from the Tayside Beaver Study Group,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29'which has been set up to find out what they are up to.'
0:48:29 > 0:48:31So, Helen, middle of the day,
0:48:31 > 0:48:35- not much chance of seeing beavers themselves.- No, there's not.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38Beavers are actually crepuscular, which means they are most active
0:48:38 > 0:48:39at dawn and dusk,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42so we're not going to be seeing them during the daylight.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44But what are the signs that we're looking out for?
0:48:44 > 0:48:46Well, it's looking for field signs,
0:48:46 > 0:48:51and some of the most common of these are looking for cutting signs.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55- So keep our eyes peeled along this bank here.- Yes, that's it.- Right.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59So how did they end up here, these wild-living beavers?
0:48:59 > 0:49:02So the beavers in Tayside originate from animals that were
0:49:02 > 0:49:05illegally released or escapees from private collections.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09Mmm...impossible to find out where that was, then, isn't it?
0:49:09 > 0:49:10Yeah, it would be tricky.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13And how many do you think there are here on this loch?
0:49:13 > 0:49:17We know here that there is a breeding pair and that they did produce
0:49:17 > 0:49:21- two kits last year, so we have four beavers here.- At least four.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23See any signs of gnawing?
0:49:23 > 0:49:25There are some just here, aren't there?
0:49:25 > 0:49:26These trees that have come down?
0:49:26 > 0:49:30Yes, that is, yes, that's certainly beaver evidence.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32So beavers are actually taking the smaller trees
0:49:32 > 0:49:35and branches that they actually cut down and used for feeding,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38and it's the larger size they'll use in construction,
0:49:38 > 0:49:42but they can actually cut trees up to as large as over a metre in diameter.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44- Really?!- Yeah. - Wow, that's impressive.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49'The wild beavers here first came to the attention
0:49:49 > 0:49:55'of organisations like Scottish Natural Heritage in 2006.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58'The Tayside Beaver Study Group is now looking at how many
0:49:58 > 0:50:00'there are and what they're doing.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03'Because they don't know where these beavers have come from,
0:50:03 > 0:50:05'they're checking their genetics and seeing
0:50:05 > 0:50:07'if they're carrying any non-native diseases.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11'And they're monitoring the impact they're having on the environment.
0:50:13 > 0:50:18'They don't eat fish, as many people think, but they do fell trees
0:50:18 > 0:50:21'and build dams to extend the watery habitat they love...
0:50:21 > 0:50:24'activities that could be of concern to landowners.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26'These dams are on the Atholl estate,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29'whose woodland is managed by Andrew Barbour.'
0:50:29 > 0:50:31How are you doing, Andrew?
0:50:31 > 0:50:33- Very well, thank you.- Good!
0:50:33 > 0:50:36So from a landowner's and somebody who manages land's point of view,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38what are the worries with having beavers?
0:50:40 > 0:50:43Well, you can see that beavers have a significant impact on their local
0:50:43 > 0:50:46environment, that's what they are doing, they're flooding areas.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49There's maybe about an acre of land here
0:50:49 > 0:50:52that has really had its water table significantly altered.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54It's much, much wetter.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57So folks like me who are managing ground like this are going to be
0:50:57 > 0:51:01worried about impact on drainage, is the obvious one, particularly
0:51:01 > 0:51:04if it's an agricultural field and you're trying to grow a crop,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06that's going to be a problem.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09There will be people concerned about the impact on the fish
0:51:09 > 0:51:10populations here.
0:51:10 > 0:51:15If this is a spawning burn for trout, and in some situations,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19that's going to be a major concern for those who are managing fisheries.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22A lot of the trees here seem to be doing OK
0:51:22 > 0:51:25in spite of the fact it's a flooded area. Why is that?
0:51:25 > 0:51:28This is principally birch and willow that has been grown here.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31Now, for willow, they LIKE this wet habitat,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33they're not going to worry and suffer too much.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36But for birch, for instance, particularly the silver birch,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38it will find it's too wet now.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42The beavers have only been here about a year, a year and a half,
0:51:42 > 0:51:43and in a year or two's time,
0:51:43 > 0:51:47I would expect to start to see some of these trees suffering.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53'It's amazing that one small family of beavers can do all that.'
0:51:53 > 0:51:55This is the lodge where they live,
0:51:55 > 0:51:58and because it's the middle of the day, the adults
0:51:58 > 0:52:01and the kits will be tucked up inside there now, fast asleep.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08'Not everyone is worried about the spread of beavers.
0:52:08 > 0:52:09'Bob Smith loves them
0:52:09 > 0:52:12'and is a member of the Tayside Wild Beaver Group.'
0:52:12 > 0:52:14- Quite insulated in there. - Very much so.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16They have two chambers in there - a feeding chamber,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19which will be the bottom chamber, and a higher chamber,
0:52:19 > 0:52:22the sleeping chamber. And that itself will be a lot warmer.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24These things don't lose a lot of heat.
0:52:24 > 0:52:25Apparently, in the winter, in Canada,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28- you can actually see steam coming off them.- Amazing.
0:52:28 > 0:52:29So talk me through,
0:52:29 > 0:52:31what are the advantages of having beavers in a landscape?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34The advantage is huge. You can see straightaway
0:52:34 > 0:52:37they're starting to coppice the trees roundabout.
0:52:37 > 0:52:38It starts to open up the canopy,
0:52:38 > 0:52:40which in turn is going to bring you
0:52:40 > 0:52:42more insects, then invertebrates and so on.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Your fish will feed on that,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46your insects will feed on the smaller invertebrates.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Then you have got your amphibians, your birdlife and so on.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52And everything is just built around this one particular small animal,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55which, when you think about it, is absolutely incredible.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Man has tried to do it and just failed miserably.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00These little guys are just awesome, that's all you can say.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02What about from an engineering point of view?
0:53:02 > 0:53:04How do they change the hydrology of an area?
0:53:04 > 0:53:08Obviously, if they dam, it slows down the water,
0:53:08 > 0:53:10so the flooding is not as quick straight
0:53:10 > 0:53:14downstream as it would be, down normal ditches and so on.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17It also acts as a big sponge, so it's a slower release,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21it holds back sediment, pollutants, so you have these benefits
0:53:21 > 0:53:24that are actually coming from the beaver, or what they're providing
0:53:24 > 0:53:27in this fantastic piece of engineering, as you say.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31'The Perthshire beavers have really presented Scotland
0:53:31 > 0:53:33'with a knotty problem.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36'No-one knows what their long-term impact will be,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39'but the monitoring project here should at least provide some answers
0:53:39 > 0:53:43'so that informed decisions about their future can be made.'
0:53:44 > 0:53:47I still haven't seen any beavers today,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49but that is because it's daylight.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52But earlier on in the week, we set up some camera traps.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03Right, let's see if we've got anything.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Here we go.
0:54:07 > 0:54:08Ooh!
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Yeah!
0:54:11 > 0:54:14Oh, my goodness! We've got them!
0:54:14 > 0:54:17There's definitely a larger adult at the front
0:54:17 > 0:54:19and maybe even a kit at the back.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Oh, my goodness!
0:54:23 > 0:54:26I still remember the first time I ever saw one in this country,
0:54:26 > 0:54:27and my jaw just fell.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32They just look so alien and yet, of course, they are originally native.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Well, that is it from Perthshire this week.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Next week, the programme will be in Somerset,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41where I'll be looking at the county's changing landscape,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44and Matt will be with livestock farmers
0:54:44 > 0:54:45affected by all the flooding.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Hope you can join us then. Bye-bye.