Own Back Yard

Two things have caught my attention recently. The adverts for Comic Relief and Bill Oddie.
For those who don't know, Comic Relief is an off shoot of Band Aid, the BBC giving over an evenings viewing to Britain's top comedians and entertainers (though this is no guarantee it will be either funny or entertaining) and in between the acts showing us films of people in Africa and at home for whom the money is being raised. Bill Oddie was once a satirical and comedic performer, one third of The Goodies, who now makes his living fronting television programmed while pretending to know something about the countryside.
The other night Bill Oddie was banging on about Grey Squirrels and how we should feed them. He gave us full on descriptions of how cute and cuddly they are and how dexterous their front paws are.(not hands Bill, squirrels don't have hands) What he failed to mention is that the introduction of the North American Grey Squirrel has been an ecological disaster for the native Red Squirrel.
An already dwindling habitat for the Red squirrels, on the endangers species Red List, has been further eroded by the large and ever increasing population of non native Grey Squirrels. Grey Suirrels also pose a threat to bird life by raiding nests for eggs and chicks. What needs to be done is the introduction of Grey Squirell free zones in suitable woodland and an extensive culling programme so that Red Squirrels have a chance to re -establish themselves in areas where they were once numerous.
What has this to do with Comic Relief, well I find it a bit sad that charities and programmes for people in need in Britain are basically an add on to a charity that does so much in Africa. Be clear I do not begrudge the people who recieve this money a single penny of it and I give as freely to Comic Relief as I do to Children In Need but I wonder how much the British charities featured in Comic Relief would get if it was just them and not an add on to the humanitarian aid being sent to Africa.
Just as I wonder if the Red Squirel was an endangered species in Africa or Asia would people like Bill Oddie be so blithely ignoring their plight or would they be raising millions of pounds to help save them in the same way millions of pounds is injected into programmes to save Tigers and Elephants.
They say charity begins at home but I think people prefer to give away from home. It salves the conscience at the same time relieving the giver of any responsibility. To become involved in something local means actually becoming connected to the problem and active in seeking a solution. For many people that is too hard a step to make.