THE RSPB is calling on the residents of the West Midlands to help sound the alarm to protect the wildlife they love.
It comes in response to what the RSPB calls “an unprecedented attack on nature and the laws that protect it by the UK Government.”
The RSPB says the Government is intent on amending or scrapping crucial environmental laws, including the Habitats Regulations, which protect some of the most vulnerable wildlife and green places across England.
Similar regulations that ensure clean water, beaches and rivers are also under threat according to the charity.
This was followed by further plans announced to create at least 38 Investment Zones which the charity say could trash planning rules – meaning housing and commercial developments could be incentivised to damage nature with little or no restriction.
In a third blow rumours have been circulated over Government plans to scrap a scheme that would have supported farmers and landowners to enhance nature, create space for rare species and habitats, and use their land to absorb carbon and work towards net zero.
Now the RSPB is appealing to people across the West Midlands, including its membership of more than one million people, to urgently contact their MPs to tell them how they feel.
Jeff Knott, the RSPB’s director of policy and advocacy, said: “One of these three government actions alone would be a disaster – taken together, in such quick succession, with no debate or scrutiny, amounts to one of the most brazen attacks on nature we have ever seen.
“The impact will be far-reaching, mountain to coast. It will affect habitats and species. Nowhere will be safe. We knew this new Government was likely to make nature a low priority, but the scale and pace of these announcements is truly shocking.
“Now we are readying ourselves to fight the biggest attack on nature in a generation and are calling on our partners, supporters, and people who love their local wildlife, to help by contacting their MPs and making themselves heard.”
