AT NIGHT, here on the island of La Gomera in the Canaries, we hear the pardelas — Cory’s Shearwaters — mewling as they cruise high above the lights of the harbour; their calls echoing against the sheer rock face that rises 1,000m directly above the port beach.

The British government faced new demands today to protect areas of wildlife in Northern Ireland amid claims that the conservation of dozens of rare species was threatened.