The report is not encouraging for British wildlife. It shows that the wildlife of Britain faces serious decline, and even extinction.
The report recorded species from all of the British Isles. And included both plant species and animal species. A total of 9,670 species were monitored. The species were monitored using the IUCN Red List. The IUCN Red List is used by wildlife conservationists to monitor and record wildlife species, then classing them as 'Critically Endangered,' 'Endangered,' 'Vulnerable,' and so on. This helps us keep track of species, and help them accordingly.
The combined study using IUCN criteria didn't provide encouraging results for our wildlife. It found that 15% of the 8,000 British wildlife species which were studied, were either extinct, or at risk of extinction.
This means that one in ten wildlife species in Britain, are threatened with extinction. It also means that the UK's wildlife is declining at a faster rate than most other countries.
The State of Nature Report found that the thing which was affecting nature the most was agriculture. It is thought that poor farming practices are largely responsible for our species decline. It is estimated that 75% of all British land is used for food
production. And therefore, managing this land in the right way, in other words, taking wildlife into consideration when farming, is critical to saving our wildlife.
If you want to read the full State of Nature report, you can do so here.
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