‘Planet friendly’: RHS to no longer class slugs and snails as pests | Biodiversity | The Guardian
About time. I’m so glad to finally see this, and to see that we are learning and attitudes are changing.
As an RHS trained horticulturist who went on to study zoology, the attitude towards invertebrates and other animals by horticulturists was always a throwback and always felt wrong to me. It comes from an era of managed estates, planting non natives, hunting non natives, wiping out species that were deemed “vermin” (that’s the next word on the list), pests and undesirable, and cleansing nature. The language and attitudes have looked more and more odd and out of place over time, as we learn and understand ecology and the importance of all animals’ roles within their native habitats.
Yes, the idea that a whole swathe of our native species are “pests” and “vermin” must go. As an extension to this, Gamekeepers have been literally gatekeepers to nature for far too long, deciding which species live and die and being responsible for inhibiting and even wiping out entire species. That role must radically change now.
Dragon Mother 
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