The Canna Saga
Having previously posted on the forthcoming project to get rid of the rat population on Canna, certain reported facts struck me as being a little on the large side. Leaving aside the six figure budget for a moment, the amount of poison to be used in relation to the estimated rat population was exceedingly generous. I thought it worthwhile to see what other online news sources had to say in case this generosity was no more than a typo in the Scotsman article that I had first read.
The Daily Telegraph article reports that the rat population is 100,000 while the WMI, the company taking on the rat poisoning side of the project, are quoted as receiving £250,000.
According to The Times, the rat population is back down to 10,000 though it does agree with the Telegraph's figure of £250,000 for the rat catchers.
The apparent discrepancy between the costs may be simply a breakdown of the overall cost of £500,000 into it's component parts: £250,000 to WMI for their efforts and the remaining £250,000 for the remainder of the project's activities which includes the temporary removal of the wood mice.
I can find no information directly relating to this project on the SNH website while the National Trust for Scotland are no better with their website. So I am none the clearer on the salient points of the project: The size of the estimated rat population & the overall project cost.
It is not that I am against this project in principle, merely curious as to how what is a fairly substantial project can be reported in a variety of ways which results in an unclear picture as to the exact objectives and costs. These all have a bearing on the judgment of whether or not the project satisfies the "value for money" criterion given that the money comes from the public purse.
It looks as if direct contact with SNH & the NTS is going to be the only way to clear the confusion up.
The Daily Telegraph article reports that the rat population is 100,000 while the WMI, the company taking on the rat poisoning side of the project, are quoted as receiving £250,000.
According to The Times, the rat population is back down to 10,000 though it does agree with the Telegraph's figure of £250,000 for the rat catchers.
The apparent discrepancy between the costs may be simply a breakdown of the overall cost of £500,000 into it's component parts: £250,000 to WMI for their efforts and the remaining £250,000 for the remainder of the project's activities which includes the temporary removal of the wood mice.
I can find no information directly relating to this project on the SNH website while the National Trust for Scotland are no better with their website. So I am none the clearer on the salient points of the project: The size of the estimated rat population & the overall project cost.
It is not that I am against this project in principle, merely curious as to how what is a fairly substantial project can be reported in a variety of ways which results in an unclear picture as to the exact objectives and costs. These all have a bearing on the judgment of whether or not the project satisfies the "value for money" criterion given that the money comes from the public purse.
It looks as if direct contact with SNH & the NTS is going to be the only way to clear the confusion up.
posted by Inchbrakie at Saturday, September 24, 2005
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