News from the Natural World: The UK has been accused of hypocrisy after cutting down 98% of its trees.
The new UN report showed the UK cut down 98% of its trees, started the industrial revolution and killed all of its animals. The “Face The Facts” report was a wide-ranging document. It simply presented a statistical analysis of the decline of flora and fauna in the United Kingdom. It cross-referenced this decline with the volume of conservation information that the UK shared with the world. They argued against exactly what they had done and we’re currently doing. Ultimately there was only one possible outcome. The UK was a hypocrite when it came to conservation.
700 species of animals saw their number fall by 13%. When plants, insects and fungi were added, one in seven of the 8,400 UK species assessed were at risk of going completely extinct. As many as 133 already vanished in the last 500 years. This was also coupled with a 98% reduction in tree cover since the Industrial Revolution, a colossal loss.
UK cutting down 98% of trees
The report also showed that the UK used to be inhabited by many large, beautiful and varied mammals. Such as the Eurasian Lynx, Eurasian Brown Bear, Beaver, Eurasian Wolf as well as Walrus. All that was left now in healthy numbers were Grey Squirrels, Grey Pigeons, and big Grey Rats. The report showed that the UK seemed to have a predilection for all things GREY when it came to animals. When one protester challenged the report and stated that the;
“the UK had Scottish Wildcats, Orca’s and Ospreys”
The report stated that these “priority species” had shrunk by an even greater 27%. There are only 400 Scottish Wildcats, 500 Osprey and 8 Orcas left. The average secondary school in England had more students than Orca, Osprey and Wildcat combined.
Alongside this decline was an increase in the number of self righteous and hypocritical articles, decrees and directives aimed at other countries, shouting at them to protect their wildlife, preserve their forests and reduce their carbon footprint. The data showed that the UK simply wasn’t practising what it preached, and for every animal lost in the UK at least 2 other countries were told to stop killing their own animals. If only the UK lead by example then others might do the same.