Wildlife volunteers have launched a fundraising appeal to help save one of Britain’s most well-known birds.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wants to increase the amount of grasslands such as meadows and put up nest boxes across the county to boost the number of barn owls.
Conservationists believe the run of bad winters and last March’s snow have reduced the bird’s numbers in the UK to the lowest ever and they could be as low as 1,000 breeding pairs.
Dr Rob Stoneman, the trust’s chief executive, said the loss of 97 per cent of Britain’s natural lowland grassland since 1945, tree loss and barn restoration as well as widespread use of agricultural rodent killing chemicals are responsible for the reduction.
He said: “We are asking everyone to support us by giving just £4 per month to help barn owls.”
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