Hedgehogs could exist extinct within a generation in the U.Thou., campaigners warn, with calls for the regime to act before it's too tardily.

They are amongst a quarter of mammals that have been placed on an official "red list" of endangered species in the country, the first of its kind.

The eleven mammals on the list include the mutiny, red squirrel, water vole, hazel dormouse and hedgehog.

Fiona Mathews, chair of the Mammal Society and professor at the University of Sussex, led the report.

"I'1000 not maxim they [the hedgehog] are going to go extinct in the side by side five years and actually information technology's quite difficult to put a precise number on information technology, just as nosotros can't put a precise number on it for a lion or a tiger," she told the BBC.

"What nosotros're saying is that the trajectory of travel is such that if we don't exercise something really radical, a lot bolder, so yes, these species that were taken for granted... they are going to end upwardly with our grandchildren not beingness able to see them."

The written report goes on to state that the reasons for the reject vary between the species, with factors such as extensive historical persecution, habit degradation and the introduction of non-native species all playing a function in contributing to the threat posed to the beingness of the mammals.

Matthews said: "The new Red Listing provides a very clear basis for prioritizing funding and conservation efforts for the time to come. Xx species — those classed as Threatened, Near Threatened, and Information Scarce — all need urgent attention.

"While we bemoan the demise of wildlife in other parts of the world, hither in Britain we are managing to transport even rodents towards extinction. Things have to change apace if we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the wild fauna we take for granted."

  • Critically endangered: Mutiny, greater mouse-eared bat
  • Endangered: Beaver, crimson squirrel, water vole, grey long-eared bat
  • Vulnerable: Hedgehog, hazel dormouse, Orkney vole, Serotine bat, Barbastelle bat
Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs are at run a risk of extinction in the U.Grand. Getty

In that location are 107 different species of mammals living in the U.K., just only a small percentage of these are native. There are 28 native terrestrial mammal species, 2 native marine mammals and 18 native bats, according to the Mammal Lodge.

Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said "This is a wake-up telephone call, simply it is not besides tardily to human action. Nosotros are working with our partners to recover our threatened and widely loved mammals, including licensing the reintroduction of beavers into England, and supporting the recovery of dormice and the gray long-eared bat, but there is and so much more to exercise.

"Central to the recovery of these and other creatures will be the protection and restoration of large areas of suitable habitat, including through the cosmos of a vibrant and wildlife-rich Nature Recovery Network, enabling populations of rare animals to increment and exist reconnected with ane some other."

The Mammal Society warns that although reintroducing species to local areas may be successful, the long term threat to their existence won't be removed.

The report states. "Nonetheless, the animals volition just cease to be classed as threatened one time their populations are much larger and improve connected.

"Unfortunately, for most other species, reintroductions are not a solution because the causes of their declines have not been rectified. Instead, cardinal modify is needed in the way nosotros manage our landscapes and program future developments, so that nosotros provide the space and habitat needed for our wildlife to thrive."