Britain's wildlife – birds, mammals, and insects under threat

By David Harrison
Published: 9:00PM BST 17 Apr 201 It has been called the “Domesday book of British wildlife” – a new publication, compiled by 40 of Britain’s leading scientists, provides a complete picture of the state of the country’s wild animals and plants. The book, called Silent Summer, makes for some grim reading. Farmland birds, brown hares, water voles and many butterflies and other insects are in decline because of changing farming practices and loss of habitat, it says. … The 600-page book was written by a team of experts and edited by Professor Emeritus Norman Maclean, of Southampton University’s School of Biological Sciences, and a leading UK authority on fish genetics and genomics. The book records how some farmland birds, including the skylark, have seen their population fall by more than half in recent decades. Farmland birds are a key government barometer for measuring the countryside’s health. … The dramatic fall in insect populations in the past 20 years has had a knock-on effects for other animals, especially birds and mammals. British butterflies in trouble include the Large Heath, Duke of Burgundy and Lulworth Skipper. … Prof Maclean told The Sunday Telegraph: “The book is like a Domesday Book of British wildlife. There are serious concerns about many species of birds and insects. The problem is chiefly man-made and the solutions can be man-made too.” …

Britain’s wildlife – birds, mammals and insects under threat