One Fifth of Species in Europe Threatened with Extinction
One in five European animal and plant species is threatened with extinction. The main causes are overexploitation, pollution and habitat loss.
Twice as Many Threatened Species as Previously Assumed
One in five European animal and plant species is threatened with extinction.
This is the conclusion reached by an international research team with Swiss participation in a study published in the journal «Plos One».
As with earlier studies, this analysis also identified changes in agricultural land use leading to the loss of habitats as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity in Europe. According to the study, this is compounded by the overexploitation of biological resources, pollution, and the development of residential and commercial areas.
Almost 15’000 Species Analysed
For the study, the researchers analysed all 14’669 European vertebrate, invertebrate and plant species listed on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Monitoring and Sustainable Land Use
In total, 2’839 of the species examined are threatened with extinction, corresponding to approximately 19 percent of all species. All species groups show negative trends. Plants are particularly affected, with 27 percent classified as endangered according to the study, followed by invertebrates at 24 percent and vertebrates at 18 percent.
In order to minimise future species loss, the authors of the study advocate using land and water in a sustainable manner. They also emphasise the need to closely monitor species.
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More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. What the research says about this is shown by Hunting fact-checked: the state of research.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
