English countryside 'shagged' by the 'white plague' of sheep

Areas such as Dartmoor in Devon have been ruined by the "white plague" of sheep, environmentalist George Monbiot has warned.

The writer and campaigner has called for a "rewilding" of the country's national parks, with the return of animals such as lynx and pumas to the countryside.

"Areas like Dartmoor have been ruined by sheep. They have been comprehensively shagged by the white plague," Monbiot has told the National Parks Conference, hosted by Dartmoor National Park at Bovey Castle this year.

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Monbiot said sheep are "just about the most destructive land use that exists", pointing out that there is "one sheep to two hectares in some national parks and that's enough to ensure that not a single tree sapling grows".

Farmers in the audience said they had been forced into present day practices by government policy, reports the North Devon Journal.

Peter Harper, chairman of Dartmoor National Park Authority and host of the conference, warned against demonising anyone and said he believed 90 per cent of upland farmers would not be there without subsidies. The method of farming is heavily subsidised by the government and the EU.

Monbiot has long campaigned against the prevalence of sheep, previously complaining that the country pays "billions to service a national obsession with sheep, in return for which the woolly maggots kindly trash the countryside".

He has also called for the end of the farm subsidy regime, which he compares to "the mediaeval feudal aid paid by poor vassals to wealthy landowners".

At this year's National Parks Conference he said the European Union spends £40bn a year on "taking money from the taxpayers and giving it to the richest people". He added: "We are being fleeced, at a time when ordinary benefits recipients are being capped."