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In the Scottish countryside, the rallying cry “It’s happening” echoes as farmers join the wave of protests happening across Europe. Their grievances are diverse, but the common thread is dissatisfaction with the status quo.

For the Scottish farmers, the protest was about restrictions being placed on farmers relating to Cairngorms National Park.  What sparked the protest was a scheme to re-introduce beavers in the area which was done without consultation. “The park provides control more than aid to those living and working in the area,” a farmers’ representative said.

Joseph Stalin called the Ukrainian farmers “enemies of the state.”  As History noted in a 2019 article, the Soviet Union dictator wanted both to replace Ukraine’s small farms with state-run collectives and punish independence-minded Ukrainians who posed a threat to his totalitarian authority.  By expropriating the farms, the state took control of food production. As a result, an estimated 3.9 – 7 million starved to death.

History quoted Alex de Waal who said: “The Ukrainian famine was a clear case of a man-made famine.”  He described it as “a hybrid…of a famine caused by calamitous social-economic policies and one aimed at a particular population for repression or punishment.”

Now, 100 years later, governments across Europe are targeting farmers primarily in the name of “climate change” and “green” policies.  The result? As history has proved, a man-made famine.

It’s not clear when the Scottish protest shown in the videos below took place, the location or the reasons the farmers and their supporters decided to take action.   Those who have been sharing the videos on social media have not provided these details.  However, The Scottish Farmer reported a protest held in Grantown-on-Spey on Monday 15 January at the headquarters of Cairngorms National Park Authority (“CNPA”).

“They rallied 21 tractors, a Unimog truck, and Land Rovers through Grantown before a meeting took place with CNPA board members,”  The Scottish Farmer wrote.

This description appears to fit the vehicles that can be seen driving through a Scottish town in the first of the videos below, which may indicate this is the same protest.  In the third video, the farmer can be heard discussing rules being imposed on farmers for the sake of the national park, which would also seem to indicate it is the protest described by The Scottish Farmers’ article.

The protest in Grantown-on-Spey was over the lack of engagement regarding the re-introduction of beavers into the area.

Cairngorms National Park was established in 2003.  In 2010, the area of the park was extended.  Within the national park, many areas have conservation designations: there are 19 Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and 46 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Roughly 18,000 people reside within the park.

National Farmers Union Highland regional manager Ian Wilson said: “The fact that the Cairngorms Park has not delivered and worked with farmers and crofters is a concern, as the government considered setting out even more national parks.  The park provides control more than aid to those living and working in the area.”

Robert MacDonald is the chairman of the Cairngorms Crofters and Farmers Group and a local farmer from Grantown-on-Spey.  He said the protest followed long-running concerns. “The promises we received 20 years ago were of benefit to the agricultural community. Yet the focus of the park is on conservation and rewilding, this is secluding farmers.”

“They seem to have a conservation policy which is not taking into account the crofters, farmers and land managers in the national park unless they are fully committed to rewilding,” he said.

“It was the beaver release that brought it all to a head because it was really done without consultation to the land managers directly,” he added.  “As seen on the River Spey with the re-introduction of beavers, this is negatively affecting people’s livelihoods.”

He also highlighted that the government views the park as a “carbon-clearance.”

“We need to consider where our food comes from,” MacDonald said.

Below are three videos being shared on social media regarding the Scottish farmers’ protest.

“We’ve tried hard to do what the government has said but they keep asking for more [and] giving us less,” the farmer in the video below said. “Farmers are getting pushed to the limit – we’ve had enough.”

James Melville tweeted the video below with the comment: “This Scottish farmer expresses his concerns about how the government are neglecting the concerns of farmers. It’s time for governments to support one of the most vital industries of them all – farming. Our food supply depends on it.”

The Scottish farmers have joined the German, French, Italian, Romanian, Polish and Lithuanian farmers.

🔥🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿The Scottish farmers have joined the protests too! Just found out.

Here's a compilation of farmers from various european countries 👇 pic.twitter.com/NVJHCUGb6a

— Nathan Cervera (@nathan_cervera) January 23, 2024

European farmers, as in one voice, say that the green policies and taxes are taking them to the very edge of bankruptcy, in what becomes in all practical terms a “manufactured famine.” The local demands vary, but they all claim to be taking the hardest hit from environmental reforms, and therefore they need more government subsidies to offset them.

To ensure farming is preserved, farmers in some countries are taking matters a step further.  The Dutch farmers have created their own political party and it’s doing well in the polls.  The Irish farmers have also established a political party, called the Farmers Alliance, and are preparing to make an impact in the upcoming local and European Union elections this summer.

Further reading:

• Germany, France, Romania, Poland, Lithuania… Farmers All Over Europe Take a Stand Against Crippling ‘Green’ Policies, The Gateway Pundit, 24 January 2024
• In pictures: French farmers block roads, bridges as protests sweep country, France 24, 24 January 2024
• ‘We live in continual stress,’ French farmers escalate protests against government over increasing costs, Rebel News, 23 January 2024
• Europe’s Unrest: Scottish Farmers Protesting, French Chaos on Train Tracks… Continent in Turmoil! Citizen Watch, 23 January 2024