Foreign mammals endanger native species

A LEADING wildlife researcher has called for joint action by governments, North and South, to protect some of our native wild animals from foreign species which have been introduced here.

Professor Ian Montgomery, lead researcher at the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University, Belfast, believes a stage has been reached in relation to threats posed to Irish mammals by invasive species where both governments should work together.

Some of our oldest inhabitants are facing serious dangers and possible extinction because of foreign species, according to researchers at Queen’s. And, it’s not a question of spending money, but of making decisions and coming up with agri-environmental schemes, such as planting more woodland, Prof Montgomery emphasises.