Told you so

Following my post the other day (not that I am implying a causal connection), The Guardian reports:

A controversial plan to trap buzzards and destroy their nests to protect pheasant shoots has been abandoned by the government, the latest in a series of U-turns.

"In the light of the public concerns expressed in recent days, I have decided to look at developing new research proposals on buzzards," said Richard Benyon, the wildlife minister. The department for the environment (Defra) had planned to spend £375,000 of public money on testing control measures in the bird of prey, a protected species.

But the proposal caused uproar among conservationists, who pointed out that the government's own documents acknowledge that the number of pheasant chicks taken by buzzards is unknown, with only anecdotal evidence available.