GreyShuck

The sores were unlike anything veteran anglers had seen before. Black, swollen and blister-like, they started appearing on fish being caught in the River Severn in early summer.

For anglers who spend many hours on the banks of the Severn around Shrewsbury, the blistering skin was yet another warning that the river, and its wildlife and habitats, are suffering.

35 UK and EU conservation organisations1 including the RSPB, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, Oceana UK, Wildlife and Countryside Link, and The Wildlife Trusts, have today issued a joint statement urging the Commission to reconsider its position and instead support this key ecosystem recovery measure in the interest of turning around the health of our beleaguered seas.

Sandeels are a key part of the UK ocean food chain, supporting vulnerable seabird species including Puffins, Kittiwakes, and Razorbills. They are also a vital food source for seals, porpoises and whales, and important fish species like Haddock and Whiting.

In January 2024, after decades of campaigning, the UK and Scottish governments announced an end to industrial sandeel fishing in English waters of the North Sea and all Scottish waters. The closure came into effect on 26th March and is regarded by conservationists as an essential step towards protecting globally important seabird populations, wider marine biodiversity and the future of sandeel-reliant UK fishing stocks.

Robins are commonly associated with the festive season, and simply spotting one can be enough to make us feel festive. But attracting robins doesn’t have to be left to chance. According to wildlife experts, there are ways to increase your chances of seeing more of these charming birds in your garden this year.

Maria Kincaid, the head ornithologist at FeatherSnap, shares her tips for transforming your garden into a Robin Redbreast hotspot.

The first beavers to be born in Hampshire for 400 years have been officially named by the former PM's father Stanley Johnson.

Local children entered a competition to name the two baby beavers, but 'Boris' wasn't in the running, with Bobby and Barry chosen as the winning names.

The pair were born this summer in an enclosure at the 925-acre Ewhurst Park estate near Basingstoke.

Parents Chompy and Hazel were released into the enclosure in January 2023 as the first beavers in Hampshire since the 1600s.

Recent footage of the two baby beavers, called kits, shows them exploring their enclosure, eating plants and starting to learn how to gnaw and fell trees.

New drone technology was a “game-changer” for teams gathering data about seals on the Calf of Man this year, conservationists have said.

A total of 98 seal pups were recorded and monitored during the 10-week survey, which was the highest number since the recordings began in 2009.

Manx Wildlife Trust marine officer Lara Howe said the seals were “very well camouflaged against the rocks”, but thermal imaging made them “super easy to spot”.

A project to increase biodiversity in a 'boring' Somerset woodland has enjoyed a promising start.

Work is being under taken at Goblin Combe, a former plantation woodland in the north of the county, by the Avon Wildlife Trust in a bid to boost the populations of three species of bat and Hazel Dormouse.

The site was previously a timber plantation, meaning the trees "are quite young and quite dull" for wildlife, reserve manager Andy Jones said.

A short stroll from Beatrix Potter’s former farmhouse in the Lake District are the waters of Cunsey Beck, nestling in the breathtaking landscape that inspired the tales of childhood favourites Jeremy Fisher and Jemima Puddle-Duck.

Campaigners say the once clear waters are regularly blighted by raw sewage from a nearby works. New figures obtained by the Observer reveal the Near Sawrey plant is alleged to have illegally discharged untreated sewage on 56 days from 2021 to 2023.

Matt Staniek, from the campaign group Save Windermere, said: “Beatrix Potter was in awe of this natural landscape. If she was alive today she would be campaigning to stop what has become a national disgrace.”

Red squirrels ‘to vanish from England’ unless vaccine against squirrelpox funded

Conservation group warns species threatened by exploding populations of grey squirrels who carry lethal virus Donna Ferguson Sat 16 Nov 2024 21.29 GMT

Red squirrels will soon disappear from England unless the government funds a vaccine against squirrelpox, one of the biggest groups set up to protect the species has warned.

Conservationists say the English population of non-native grey squirrels has exploded this year, triggered by warmer winters which enable mating pairs to feed and breed all year round, and estimate that 70% are carrying squirrelpox, a virus which is lethal only to red squirrels.

“We’re facing a huge surge of grey squirrels,” said Robert Benson, founder of Penrith and District Red Squirrel Group, which covers 600 square miles of Cumbria.

“We think they are breeding three or four times a year, and having four or five kits each time, leading to a massive expansion in grey squirrel numbers: 15 or 20 young grey squirrels are moving through the countryside [each year], from each breeding pair.”

People are being asked for their views on the reintroduction of wild beavers in Gloucestershire as a population has been spotted close to the county's borders.

Currently, there are three enclosed beaver colonies in Gloucestershire and no beavers living in the wild.

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) said there is a "real possibility" wild beavers could establish in the area as they have been seen close by, including on the River Avon.

Conditions in a Manx marshland wallabies escaped to in the 1960s proved "almost perfect" for an expansion in the population to 1,000, a conservation charity has said.

Only a small number managed to break out of a nearby wildlife park, but recent surveys of the Ballaugh Curragh and its surrounding areas show numbers have swelled.

Manx Wildlife Trust chief executive Leigh Morris said the habitat was similar to Tasmania, which was one of the places the species is native to.

That allowed the wild population to grow in the north-west of the island, before migrating to other glens and forests over the past six decades, he said.

The UK's largest bird of prey could soon be flying through the skies over Exmoor National Park, after an absence of more than two centuries.

Exmoor National Park Authority has proposed to reintroduce white-tailed eagles to the area, in a collaboration with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England.

It's part of a wider initiative to restore the species to the skies of southern England.

New Forest residents have been treated to a flyover from the United Kingdom’s biggest bird of prey.

Daily Echo Camera Club member Jordan Callaghan managed to capture a white-tailed eagle soaring over Holbury, carrying what appears to be a rabbit through the air.

One photo managed to snap the bird’s huge wing span, which can reach up to 2.5 metres, in all its glory.