A MAJOR new charity report reveals the water vole is under serious threat of extinction despite changes in farming practice and monitoring.
Conservation charity Mammals Trust UK says the water vole is still seriously under threat and authors of the report, Professor David Macdonald and Dr Sandra Baker of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, have described the water vole as a 'contender for the UK's most rapidly declining mammal'.
The report describes the historical issues leading to the water vole's decline as well as summarising the recent conservation work in the battle to save the elusive mammal.
The State of Britain's Mammals 2005 report, is the fourth in a series of annual updates following the publication of the Mammal Trust's Britain's Mammals: The Challenge for Conservation in 2001.
Researchers said recent changes to government payments to farmers 'could have profound impacts on the conservation of mammals in the countryside'. The decoupling of subsidies from production under the Single Payment Scheme of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and changes to Defra's agri-environment schemes are also evaluated and the new 'more environmental focus' is welcomed.
The study also said mammal monitoring has made progress this year.
The report details key findings and new inventions that are helping data collection.
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