Target: Dame Angela Eagle, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Goal: Enact provisions to protect breeding grounds of dwindling seabird populations.
The sighting of a tropical heron (a bird that typically frequents much warmer areas) in the United Kingdom has helped bring the issue of bird migration and distribution back into the region’s spotlight. One of the UK’s tiniest birds is currently under that spotlight. Small, ground-nesting seabirds known as terns have seen their three primary representatives plummet by as much as 65 percent.
The birds are getting an assist. Over 8,600 acres of nesting ground in Lindisfarne are being protected by electric netting designed to keep out predators and intruders that might disturb the nests. In five years’ time, the number of fledglings produced in this region has nearly multiplied by ten.
Sign the petition below to encourage a wider adoption of this conservation success story.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Eagle,
Little tern, arctic tern, and especially common tern populations have drastically dropped over the past few decades. This steep decline has been attributed to breeding and breeding ground difficulties. An initiative out of Lindisfarne has helped reverse course. Electric netting installed around tern breeding grounds have paid large dividends in replenishing the terns’ fledgling populations.
Imagine the positive strides that could be made with a UK-wide expansion of this proven approach. Birds like terns are more than just manifestations of natural beauty. They are crucial links in ecosystems and a boon to the tourism industry, as so many visitors travel the globe to just witness new and unique wildlife. Please secure the futures of terns and all the UK’s wild inhabitants.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: MPF
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