Farming dooms UK’s dormice

BRITAIN’S dormouse population has plunged by more than a third since the year 2000, according to a study.

Numbers of the much-loved tiny creature have been hit by loss of woodland cover and hedgerows, the concreting of the countryside and climate change, say researchers.

The common dormouse – also known as the hazel dormouse – was once widespread but it has been lost from 17 counties and is now only commonly found in the South of England.

Monitoring of sites for dormice in May or June each year has revealed numbers falling by 38 per cent since 2000, said a report from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. The rate of decline is equivalent to a fall of per cent over 2 years, it added.