Big decline in farmland birds

A new study by a conservation group says that intensive farming practices have become a serious threat to many species of birds in Western Europe.

The study by a British group, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, says that over the past thirty years there have been huge falls in the numbers of birds traditionally found in the countryside. It says that in Britain some species, like the common sparrow, have declined by nearly ninety percent. The report blames the use of pesticides, insecticides and the creation of huge arable prairies.

It calls on the European Union to stop encouraging farmers to produce more crops than are needed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service