大象传媒

Flower growers in Cornwall are warning that they'll have to leave crop to rot in January, because there won't be enough people to pick it. This year, for the first time, they were able to get seasonal staff via the Temporary Workers visa - there were 38,000 of these 6 month visas which allow workers from abroad to come onto farms, and a further 2,000 visas for poultry staff. But next year flower growers say the visa scheme will open too late for the early Cornish season, where harvest starts straight after New Year.

An updated risk assessment of the impact game bird releases have on avian flu in wild and kept birds, is being launched by the Government's Animal and Plant Health Agency. The review has been jointly commissioned by DEFRA, and the Welsh and Scottish Governments. At the moment in England, all captive birds must be kept housed, but under the rules, once game birds have been released, they are classed as wild birds so don't have to be shut inside. Tens of millions of young pheasants are raised every year and released into the wild for driven shoots, across the UK.

And plans have been unveiled for an 11 mile-long tidal barrier across the Lincolnshire/Norfolk Wash. The two billion pound proposal includes a container port and renewable energy schemes and claims it could create thousands of jobs. But conservationists have raised concerns about its potential impact on habitat for birds and marine life, in a designated Special Area of Conservation.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for 大象传媒 Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons