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Bill Oddie's tirade against Environment Secretary

TV presenter and bird lover Bill Oddie has launched an online tirade against the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson.

Writing on his Twitter account, Mr Oddie voices a long list of grievances against the Secretary which include his alleged support of the badger cull, pesticides that harm bees and the hunting act.

Billoddie?size=bigger

Owen Paterson. Secretary for the Environment? AGAINST the environment, yes. British Wildlife is not safe with this man or this government.

From @BillOddie on Twitter:
Billoddie?size=bigger

Who has approved a badger cull despite authoritative science saying it wont help eradicate Bovine TB? Owen Paterson cont.

From @BillOddie on Twitter:

Mr Paterson, who does not have a Twitter account, does not appear to have responded to the accusations so far.

Number of nesting birds in Britain plummet

Scientists have estimated that the number of nesting birds in Britain has plummeted by a fifth in the last fifty years - dying out at a rate of one pair every minute.

Figures compiled from volunteers' observations show that some 44 million birds have been lost from Britain since 1966.

Ornithologist Bill Oddie has spoken to ITV News:

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