Rare UK seabirds put at risk by ‘alarming loophole’, say campaigners

Rare UK seabirds put at risk by ‘alarming loophole’, say campaigners



The government has given itself an “alarming loophole” to avoid protecting seabirds including puffins and gannets, a leaked document shows.

Campaigners have accused ministers of “giving up” on the UK’s seabirds as they plan to apply for an exemption to a legal duty to protect the rare species.

Each year the government sets itself targets to protect the marine environment and the wildlife within it, and one of those goals is to halt seabird decline. Of the UK’s 25 breeding seabird species, 24 are assigned red or amber status on the birds of conservation concern list, meaning they are at risk of local extinction.

The UK marine strategy, seen by the Guardian, indicates that the government has shown signs that it intends to apply for exceptions to its legal duty to protect seabirds.

The strategy, first published in 2012, imposed a legal duty on the government to meet 15 measures to achieve “good environmental status” by 2020. One of the targets was to halt seabird decline. So far the UK has failed to meet 11 of those targets, with progress towards the goal of halting seabird decline worsening from the 2012 starting point.

Lead Image: Populations of seabirds such as puffins are key indicators of the health of UK seas and coastal areas. Photograph: Paul Broadbent/Alamy.

Article Source

What you can do

Support ‘Fighting for Wildlife’ by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute. Thank you.


payment

Fighting for Wildlife supports approved wildlife conservation organizations, which spend at least 80 percent of the money they raise on actual fieldwork, rather than administration and fundraising. When making a donation you can designate for which type of initiative it should be used – wildlife, oceans, forests or climate.

Dive in!

Discover hidden wildlife with our FREE newsletters

We promise we’ll never spam! Read our Privacy Policy for more info

Supertrooper

Founder and Executive Editor

Share this post with your friends




Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

2 Comments