LONDON: A bird commonly found in the south east is at risk of global extinction according to new information published last week.
The European Turtle Dove is one of four UK birds to join the list of species considered to be facing extinction after the latest annual revision of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Endangered Species was announced by BirdLife International, on behalf of the IUCN, on Thursday (October 29).
According to the RSPB the south east region is one of the last remaining areas in the UK where turtle doves continue to breed.
Over half of the remaining UK population of turtle doves can be found in the eastern region, with the vast majority of the others found in south east England.
Turtle doves are already on the UK Red List due to the loss of more than nine out of every ten birds in this country over the last 50 years.
The charity says declines across Europe of more than 30 per cent over the past 16 years have now seen its global threat status rise from ‘least concern’ to ‘vulnerable’, placing it in the same extinction threat category as species like the African elephant and lion.
Marc Fletcher, the RSPB’s reserves manager for the south east region, said: “The news of the increased threat of extinction to turtle doves is not wholly unexpected, but it does throw into sharp relief the dire situation these birds face and the urgency of joined-up conservation efforts across their range if we are to save them.
“Here in South East England, we are working closely with farmers to help create feeding habitat for the birds in the countryside, but as migratory turtle doves only spend a few months of the year in the UK.
