The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) reportedly entered administration on Thursday. FWAG entered administration following a three week struggle to remain afloat, despite entering into eleventh hour talks with a mystery third party this week.

image expired

 Commenting on the talks, a FWAG source said, "We are still not in administration and we are continuing to trade and fighting to stay solvent." However, those close to the group, including its regional office chairs, were yesterday informed that the fight to save the organisation had been unsuccessful, although as yet there has been no official word from the charity.

FWAG had been fighting to remain solvent since 31st October, when, after several months of hardship, the charity’s credit facility was withdrawn and it could not pay all of the staff in its 29 regional offices. The group had faced "severe disruption" to its funding since the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, according to Chair of Trustees, Henry Lucas.

Some regional groups, including FWAG’s offices in Yorkshire, have met over the past weeks to discuss the possibility of a continuation of FWAG’s work on a regional basis; it appears the groups plan to go it alone and continue to offer conservation and environmental services by county.

FWAG was established in 1969 by farmers who were concerned about the dramatic loss of habitat and wildlife which had resulted from the increasing intensification of farming methods. The advisory service provided resources to help farmers work in a more environmentally responsible manner.