Fury as former Defra advisor says sheep 'have to go' and calls for subsidies ... trends now

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They have long been a defining feature of Britain's rural landscapes and do not usually court controversy.

But the nation's sheep flocks have become the subject of an unlikely – and fierce – debate after a leading environmentalist claimed they can cause more harm than good.

Ben Goldsmith, a former adviser for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and brother of ex-Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, found himself subjected to a barrage of online abuse from farmers after saying sheep 'have got to go' from hillsides.

'It's time to talk about sheep,' Mr Goldsmith last week wrote in a post on Twitter.

'The unavoidable truth is that sheep are the principal obstacle standing in the way of meaningful nature recovery in Britain's national parks and other agriculturally marginal landscapes.