Pressure on politicians to support wildlife

Climate change, global warming, eco-catastrophe, extinction of species – all are becoming common in news reports around the world.

Yet conservationists at the Wildlife Trust fear that these possible disasters are being ignored by politicians and they want them to act before it is too late.

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside has joined the campaign to ensure the UK is at the forefront of decisions that could save the world.

And it believes that this should start with an Environment Act which will continue to recognise protections of our species and add to those safeguards.

The Trust is calling on its members to lobby their MPs who can assure their constituents that they are concerned about the future of the planet.

Chief Executive Anne Selby said: “We are facing mass extinctions unless immediate action is taken. In the UK we cannot be complacent about the problems in our own country. And we cannot just look at the environmental issues in our own region without linking them to the rest of the planet.

“Turtle Doves and Nightjars no longer live in the North West and other bird numbers have plummeted since the end of the war. Hedgehog numbers in the UK have fallen from five million to less than a million today. Swallow populations have declined by 45 per cent.

“It really is that serious, the time has come for a change of attitude to the environment and we must put pressure on our own local politicians to ensure that the North West and UK are at the forefront of saving our precious wildlife before it is too late.”

The Wildlife Trusts want to encourage everyone to write to their MPs so that they will support a strong and meaningful Environment Act, an act that this Government has promised next year.

Anne said: “We need a regulatory framework that is not a downgrading of the present system of laws which have safeguarded our wild places for 45 years. We now need an Environment Act with teeth.

“We need to mobilise young people as well as older people to canvas their politicians of all persuasions.”

The Trust wants its members and supporters to contact their local MP and ask them to:

• Pledge their support for a strong and relevant Environment Bill in 2019.
• Ensure that safeguards to protect wildlife are retained and strengthened.
• Show their support by sending a picture or a selfie with a message of support for the Environment Bill.
• Continue to “make a noise for wildlife” in the corridors of power.

Anne said: “We need strong leadership and we need a change of attitude of the vast majority of the people in this country. While it is nice to preach to the choir, we now need to work with our members and supporters to ensure the protection of wildlife is handed over to future generations giving them at least some hope of turning the tide away from environmental disaster."