Fears over future of Britain’s mammals

SOME of Britain’s best-loved mammals, including hedgehogs and red squirrels, are still under threat despite efforts to protect them, according to a report published today.

An assessment of how UK mammals have fared in the past decade revealed there had been notable successes, including the revival of otters, which have bounced back from the brink of extinction.

The 2011 State of Britain’s Mammals study, produced by researchers at Oxford University for the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, shows that half of 25 monitored UK mammal species have either stable or increasing populations.

But key species such as red squirrels, Scottish wildcats, water voles and mountain hares have declined, while hedgehogs, particularly in rural areas, are also in trouble.

The report’s authors from Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit argue that as well as “holding the line” by taking steps to protect threatened mammals, radical conservation efforts, including bringing back once-native species such as beavers and even the Eurasian lynx to the UK, should be considered.

Professor David Macdonald, who helped write the report, said: “There have been plenty of successes: otters returning through cleaner rivers, polecats returning with more educated and benign gamekeeping, water vole re-introductions in the face of habitat restoration and mink control.”

But he added: “We expect the future of red squirrels to be confined to a few islands, such as Anglesey and the Isle of Wight, or in the Highlands of Scotland.”

Red squirrels have been hit by invasive grey squirrels, which compete with reds for food and carry a disease which is fatal to their native cousins.

With hedgehog populations tumbling from 30 million in the 1950s to around 1.5 million, they are also threatened.

Prof Macdonald pointed to the trial project in Scotland that re-introduced beavers to Argyll as a positive move. “We should be thinking about beaver re-introductions in Wales and England,” he said.