A starved polar bear found found dead in Svalbard as “little more than skin and bones” perished due to a lack of sea ice on which to hunt seals, according to a reknowned polar bear expert. Climate change has reduced sea ice in the Arctic to record lows in the last year and Dr Ian […]
Tag: damian carrington
Snow leopards and wild yaks becoming ‘fashion victims’
Snow leopards, wild yaks and other iconic wildlife on the world’s highest mountains and great steppes are becoming “fashion victims” of the surging global trade in cashmere, new research has revealed. Scientists found wildlife being driven to the margins of survival by the “striking but unintended consequences” of huge increases in the numbers of the […]
Imported bumblebees pose risk to UK’s wild and honeybee population
Over three-quarters of the thousands of bumblebee colonies imported into the UK every year are riddled with parasites, a new study has revealed. Scientists say the discovery has “alarming” implications for the health of the UK’s wild bees and honeybees, many of which are already in serious decline, and that urgent action is required to […]
Gassing of badgers considered in plan to eradicate TB in cattle
The gassing of badgers is being considered as part of a government plan to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle in England in the next 25 years. The strategy, published on Thursday, also includes ongoing research on giving badgers contraceptives in order to reduce their numbers. Further measures in the plan to control bovine TB, a disease […]
RSPB accused of hypocrisy for killing hundreds of birds on its reserves
The RSPB has admitted killing hundreds of birds on its reserves, prompting an accusation of “extraordinary hypocrisy” from the Countryside Alliance. The RSPB recently criticised the licenced destruction of buzzard eggs and nests to protect a pheasant shoot and said a cull of lesser black-backed gulls should be halted. But on Thursday the charity revealed […]
Bumblebees take off with a special fungus weapon to save strawberries
Squadrons of bumblebees are being deployed in a novel attempt to prevent grey mould turning the summer’s strawberries into fluffy mush. The bees are routed via a one-way system in their hive through a tray of harmless fungus spores which, when delivered to flowers, ensure that the grey mould cannot take hold as the fruit […]
Culls risk illegally exterminating badgers, animal expert warns
England’s highly controversial badger culls risk illegally wiping out every badger in the cull zones because the animals’ numbers are so poorly known, according to one of the UK’s leading badger experts. The culls, intended to curb tuberculosis in cattle, are authorised to begin on 1 June but could prove unworkable because of the uncertainty […]
Fipronil named as fourth insecticide to pose risk to honeybees
A widely used insect nerve agent has been labelled a “high acute risk” to honeybees by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A similar assessment by the EFSA on three other insecticides preceded the suspension of their use in the European Union. “The insecticide fipronil poses a high acute risk to honeybees when used as […]