Call to protect island birds from rats

BIRDS in UK overseas territories are under threat of extinction due to rats and mice.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said seabirds on Henderson Island in the Pacific are under threat as rats plunder their eggs and it has called on the government to take urgent action to remove them.

Gough and Inaccessible Islands, in the south Atlantic, are also under threat if non-native house mice are not removed before 2014.

RSPB international director Tim Stowe said: "It is embarrassing that the UK is failing in its duty to protect sites and species solely in our care."