Mrs Tiggywinkle at risk: new animals on protection list include hedgehog and sparrow
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the UK’s early-warning system for species at risk of extinction has been enlarged with a raft of new plants and animals, it was reported in The Guardian. The list, which is updated every ten years, has more than doubled to 1,149 at-risk species since the last review even though some species have been taken off since 1997 as their numbers have been stabilised and are no longer considered at risk.
The house sparrow, harvest mouse, cuckoo, garden tiger moth, grass snake and hedgehog have all been added with the hope that habitat loss and decline in numbers can be halted within three years.
Meanwhile, the Killarney fern and prickly sedge have been removed from the list as there are no longer concerns over their survival but several species have also been removed as the feared extinction has occurred, such as the large copper butterfly.
Birds on the list now include a fifth of the UK’s regularly-occurring birds, which is a big cause for concern and should lead to plans to stop the destruction of habitats. Let’s hope the plan can successfully halt the decline in some of the UK’s most characteristic animals and plants or the landscape will be much the poorer for it.
It's such a shame these (once) common animals are becoming endangered. In our garden we have two hedgehogs, which we feed every night, plus loads of house sparrows! I'm doing my bit to protect them :)
Posted by: elisa_smith | August 29, 2007 2:39 PM