A broken government pledge to the next generation

Over the last two decades, some bat species have become a more common sight across some parts of the UK. Legal protection has played no small part in this but that protection is now at risk as the government plans to either remove or weaken the legislation that has enabled this recovery from historical declines. To reduce their protection is short sighted and irresponsible. Many of you have already written to your MPs as part of our URGENT CALL FOR HELP campaign launched in August but we now know that we need to do more.

In the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, published in 2018, it states the Conservative government's intent to “keep our pledge to hand over our planet to the next generation in a better condition than when we inherited it.” This promise is being broken in the creation of the Retained EU Law Bill (also known as the Brexit Freedoms Bill) which would expire EU legislation in December 2023. This move will undermine nature's recovery and break a government promise to the next generation. In addition proposals in a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill would allow development to be carried out without due consideration to wildlife or the environment. We are also now hearing that the Government is considering significant changes to the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) which were designed to support environmentally friendly farming. It is now time for all of us to take action and let politicians know that wildlife matters. You will not be alone in this fight. We are at a crucial moment for conservation in the UK. We have already initiated discussions with others across the conservation, environmental and heritage sectors who, like us, see the danger this deregulation poses to people and wildlife alike.

We will be demanding that the UK government keeps its promise to the next generation including the commitment to reverse biodiversity loss. We will need your help to stop this environmental vandalism from happening. Together we must demand that the government enhances nature protection to give biodiversity the chance to recover and thrive again one day.