Peat bogs are full of rare wildlife including threatened butterflies

[Neil Jones]

Peat bogs are full of rare wildlife including threatened butterflies...

Butterfly Conservation and other leading wildlife organisations are 
joining forces to call for a tax of at least £1 to be put on each bag of 
high quality peat based compost.

Peat bogs are being dug up for compost to spread on gardens, but are 
full of rare wildlife including threatened butterflies like the Large 
Heath. They also suck up carbon, helping to tackle climate change.

The compost is considered so environmentally damaging that the 
Government has asked garden centres to phase out selling the compost 
over the next 20 years.

But so far the voluntary agreement is failing to cut the amount of peat 
used. From 2007 to 2009, total UK peat use fell by just over one per 
cent as gardeners continue to buy the cheap material to make plants grow 
faster.

Butterfly Conservation , Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 
(RSPB), Plantlife, Buglife and the Wildlife Trusts are warning that 
gardeners are now destroying wildlife in Continental Europe and Ireland 
after using up our own resources.

In a new report the groups suggest that the only way to stop the trend 
is to put a tax on peat so consumers are attracted to buy alternatives 
like coir made from coconut husks.

Dr Martin Warren, Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation said “The 
use of peat in gardens is a crucial issue for wildlife and climate 
change. Peat costs society £32 million every year because of rising 
carbon emissions and loss of wildlife. We do not believe that the levy 
would harm the industry as the most companies are already making 
alternatives, but it would raise money to conserve our dwindling 
wildlife and consumers into more environmentally friendly behaviour.”


 
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