Garden Tidiness Endangers small mammals
From the BBC:
Hedgehogs join 'protection' list
Hedgehogs and house sparrows have been included on an updated list of
species and habitats which need protection.
The new Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has identified 1,149 species and
65 habitats in the UK as being in need of conservation and greater
protection.
When the action plan was launched in 1997, it listed 577 species - half
the number included in the updated version.
Wildlife experts said this was a result of wider research and not
necessarily down to more habitat being destroyed.
Other animals added to the list for the first time include the grass
snake and the garden tiger moth; while otters, bottlenose dolphins and
red squirrels are deemed to remain in need of habitat protection.
A separate study, also published on Tuesday, also highlighted the
decline in the UK's hedgehog population.
The study by the University of London for the People's Trust for
Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society listed
tidier gardens and urbanisation as key factors affecting the fall in
the number of the small mammals.
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