Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

– Animal dung provides an important habitat and food source for a wide
range of invertebrates and in turn, their predators. Many conservation
organisations have now banned the use of worming drugs such as Ivermectins
owing to their toxicity and long residence time in the dung, which can be
detrimental to the invertebrates supported by dung.
6.2.8 The limitations of extensive fen grazing
– Localised over-grazing may be a problem in favoured areas. In contrast, some
areas may be avoided by stock, allowing the vegetation to become rank and
more unpalatable.
– Extensive grazing will not arrest succession, control or remove scrub but can
maintain clearings open and check re-growth.
– The health and welfare of livestock can be seriously compromised if livestock are
not used to harsh conditions, if the sward is of insufficient nutritional quality, or if
there is a lack of dry refuge land.
6.2.9 Poaching: good or bad?
112
Cattle grazing in a valley
mire in the New Forest,
preventing succession to
scrub or woodland. Access
to higher, drier ground
allows cattle refuge from
the wetter fen (I. Diack).
At Loughkeelan in Northern
Ireland cattle tend to stay
on adjacent higher drier
ground, only grazing the
periphery of the interdrumlin
fen. Although
heavily poached, the grazed
area of fen is much more
diverse than the ungrazed
tall reed-dominated area of
fen. This fen would benefit
from mowing the tall reeds
back towards the open
water to encourage cattle
to graze a larger proportion
of the fen, which would
enhance overall diversity
(P. Corbett).
Hoof damage by livestock, commonly referred to as poaching, is almost inevitable
when grazing wetlands, particularly around gateways, feeding and watering
points, during wet weather, and when stock are confined to a small area. Poaching
macerates the vegetative cover and causes soil compaction, which in turn makes
it more prone to erosion, surface run-off of soil and manure, and colonisation by
weedy species. However poaching on a limited scale creates bare ground for seed
germination and provides microhabitats for other species (see Section 9: Creating
Fen Habitat). The problem is judging when poaching is causing more harm than
good.