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Yellowhammer dead at the side of the road

Yellowhammer dead at the side of the road © Shutterstock

#DefendNature: We Need You

UK Government is seriously threatening our wildlife

We know you are as angry as we are about UK Government's plans to change nature and climate laws - and are asking you to help #DefendNature.

Nature has really taken a battering; in the last week alone, UK Government has announced that they will be:

  • Lifting the ban on fracking in England
  • Removing important laws that protect nature
  • Considering scrapping plans to reward farmers for managing land in a nature-friendly way.

These go against the explicit promises the Conservative Party made in their 2019 manifesto and the mandate they were elected to govern on. We have no option left to us but to ask our political leaders to represent us - their electorate.

How you can help: step-by-step

A poster at a climate march reads: "I want you to act as you would in a crisis. Act like our house is on fire because it is!"
STEP ONE

Tweet your MP

If you're on Twitter, use our simply form to send a tweet to your MP.

Take the action

 

 

A person writing a letter
STEP TWO

Write to your MP

  1. Download our template letter here
  2. Edit or add to the text to reflect your own concerns
  3. Find your MP here
  4. Send your letter by post or email to your MP
Further guidance here

 

 

Climate march COP26

Climate march Nottingham by Leanne Manchester

STEP THREE

Write to your local Councillor*

(*This impacts where you live and they need to speak up too!)

  1. Download our template letter here
  2. Edit or add to the text to reflect your own concerns
  3. Find your Councillor here
  4. Send your letter by post or email to your Councillor.

Step four: Take the pledge

Will you pledge to write to your MP and councillor?

Make your pledge now

Why are The Wildlife Trusts and other environmental charities so concerned?

We believe the UK Government has launched a full-scale attack on nature – leaving wildlife unprotected by tearing up some of the most fundamental laws we’ve got.

New planning laws and ‘investment zones’ announced on Friday 23rd September represent a ‘free-for-all’ on nature by weakening the laws previously in place to protect it from bulldozers and concrete. The new Retained EU Law Bill could also see the end of basic protections, leading to the loss of designated wildlife sites and a relaxation on pollution laws, resulting in more sewage in our rivers and streams.

What’s more, the UK Government is also reviewing the new system that has been developed to reward farmers that help to restore the environment. Reports suggest that instead they might revert back to the old system of paying farmers depending on how much land they own (with larger landowners receiving more subsidy). This is a complete about turn on the farming reform the Conservation Party promised to deliver in their election manifesto in 2019.

You can read more about these issues in our recent blog post.