Summary
The lesser (rarely) spotted Vestey is not, of course, indigenous. There is a smallish nest site in the Borders, but you're more likely to catch this largely non-native species in Saffron Waldon, Essex, or Haverhill, Suffolk. Except during periods of migration where sightings are possible in Sutherland, provided you can gain access to the right part of an estate not far short of 100,000 acres. Those who eagerly rush to defend the reputation of Scotland's major landowners are wont to cite the committed custodianship of the Buccleuchs, or indicate what a thoroughly nice and hard-grafting chap is the Duke of Westminster. The Vesteys have not normally featured in any such resume under the headings of great and good.
This is not unconnected with a distressing genetic phobia in the family which manifests itself as an illogical fear of the taxman and a resulting disinclination to send very much revenue to that nice Gordon Brown. As Edmund Vestey declared with a frankness which might have embarrassed more sensitive citizens: "We're all tax-dodgers, aren't we?" Actually, no. But when you are extremely rich, one of the ways you stay that way is to employ specialist teams whose task is avoidance of duties (fiscal and otherwise). A second speciality is utilising conservation tax schemes and heritage funds from various sources in order to acquire anything from free fencing - keeps the animals in and the plebs out - to stately home improvement.See the full content of this document
Extract
They Ask Not What They Can Give but What They Can Take
Neither are the Vesteys among those who see any part of their mission as an obligation to the people who live and work in the part of Scotland they have colonised. Faced with a danger of responsible husbandry, their response has generally been to sell off anyth...
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