Gobbling up facts on life in the countryside

Around 15 million or so are produced annually for the table, 10 million of which are normally sold for the festive trade.

And if they're still around by the middle of December then, you never know, they might even get to enjoy Christmas 2022, as turkeys raised specifically for the Christmas trade are usually slaughtered between December 5 and 10 and left to hang in chilled conditions.

These are just some of the facts in a new book produced by a company based in the rural West Midlands which aims to spread knowledge about – and clear up misconceptions about – the countryside and farming.

Published by Ludlow-based Merlin Unwin Books, it is called Everything You Wanted To Know About The Countryside (But Didn't Dare Ask!) and has been written by Jill Mason.

Now retired, Jill worked for 30 years as one of Britain's few women gamekeepers.

She has written extensively for countryside magazines and has authored a number of books. Jill's husband, David, formerly also a gamekeeper, is now retired and an enthusiastic and dedicated photographer of wildlife and the countryside. The couple now live in Norfolk.

Jill's book is wide-ranging, including a look at the role of arable, cattle, poultry and pig farmers, and at the changes over the past 20 years, with factors such as Brexit, Covid, war, concerns about food security and animal welfare, and the health of the planet itself.

"This is a book which everyone needs to read who wants a broad understanding of how the British countryside today works," said Lydia Unwin of Merlin Unwin.

Author Jill says she has aimed the book, which is in hardback, is full colour, and costs £30, at anyone who wants to know more about the British countryside.

With the popularity of programmes like Countryfile, interest in rural life is on the rise and there is also a greater wish from consumers to know where their produce is from and how it is produced.

By the way, all turkeys originate from the black wild turkey from North America and have no association with the country with which they share their name.

And here are just a few other I-never-knew-that snippets from the book...

Depending on the breed, dogs have a sense of smell between 10,000 and 100,000 times more acute than humans.

The Lake District has 16 large lakes but only one is actually named a lake – Bassenthwaite Lake. The others are called meres or waters.

British sheep are almost all kept for meat, not wool, for which demand is minimal and the average value of each fleece does not even cover the cost of shearing the sheep in the first place.

The average milk yield per cow has increased by nearly 100 per cent since 1975 and the UK is very nearly self-sufficient in milk production.

All pigs kept as pets, even if only one, are subject to the same regulations as any herd of pigs, and cannot be moved anywhere without a licence.

Chicken is the most popular meat in the UK, outselling beef, lamb, and pork combined.

It was not until 1994 that the practice of stabling pit ponies underground came to an end.

Only about five per cent of horse thoroughbreds in training ever win a race.

And finally . . . British cats kill an estimated 55 million birds each year.