Bird decline no surprise, and we have ourselves to blame
The RSPB has reported a decline of 40 million birds in the last 50 years in the UK
Why the shock and surprise – when thousands upon thousands of trees have been felled; hardly a second thought given to each tree and habitat destruction, and miles of hedgerow ripped out?
Meadows and wetlands are drained, there is widespread replacement of gardens with development and concrete for parking and people replace their hedges with sterile fencing.
Thousands of acres of green and scrubland are being developed for housing, not to mention the detriment and decimation by pesticides and fertilisers which kill insect food.
Dramatic decline in bird species and numbers is an obvious and logical consequence of our own gung ho approach to development and the environment.
We are systematically destroying the homes, trees and hedgerows, and the food supply, the gardens, fields and scrublands, of birds and all wildlife.
We need to turn the tide and stop or reduce some of these practices or introduce real mitigation, not mere planning lip service, to halt wildlife and bird number declines. If we don’t there will be large scale extinctions, before, one day in the future, our own species.
Pollution, air and water, will be our nemesis if we keep destroying the trees and plants at present rate, as trees and green plants produce oxygen, remove carbon dioxide and act as filters for air and rain water.
June McCarthy, Oswestry
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