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View offers Hi {{fullName}} * My Independent Premium * Account details * Help centre * Logout (BUTTON) Environment Tens of thousands of trees die as HS2 bosses say replacing them more 'cost-effective' than watering Conservationists warn of threat to 'irreplaceable, centuries-old ancient woodland' from massive rail project * Jon Sharman * Wednesday 22 May 2019 16:11 {{^moreThanTen}} * {{total}} comments {{/moreThanTen}} * An artist's impression of an HS2 train on the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the proposed route for the rail scheme ( HS2/PA ) Tens of thousands of trees planted to mitigate the environmental impact of the High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) route have died following the 2018 summer drought. More than one-third of saplings planted in 2017-18 had to be replaced a year later, bosses admitted, as they said putting in new plants was cheaper than keeping the old ones alive. Some 89,000 trees planted between November 2017 and March 2018 later died, out of a total of 234,000 – or 38 per cent. Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines (BUTTON) Download now HS2 leaders, who have promised to plant 7 million trees along the route, pointed the finger at last year’s searing summer weather. A spokesman said in a statement to The Independent: “The summer of 2018 was the hottest on record in England, with an average of just 35.4mm of rain falling in June, half the usual amount. “We estimate it would have cost around £2m to water the trees during the drought, so replacing these plants is a much more cost-effective solution, as well as a more ethical use of resources during unprecedented conditions at the height of summer.” Created with Sketch. British mammals’ fight for survival Show all 11 Created with Sketch. Created with Sketch. (BUTTON) Created with Sketch. British mammals’ fight for survival 1/11 The Mammal Society’s assessment of Britain’s mammal populations is the first such review in over 20 years. The results reveal winners and losers, and highlight some of the key threat’s facing the country’s wildlife such as habitat loss, invasive species and the spread of diseases. 2/11 Hedgehogs Populations of the much-loved insectivore may have declined by as much as 73% Richard Bowler 3/11 Greater mouse-eared bats Only one of these flying mammals has been recorded in the whole country, in a railway tunnel in West Sussex Andrew Harrington 4/11 Rabbits Despite being a common sight across the countryside, rabbits have decreased in number by nearly 10% Danni Thompson 5/11 Black Rats Though not generally considered threatened animals, black rats number have collapsed in recent years due largely to pest control measures. However their far more common cousins, the brown rats, are thriving. Tim Melling 6/11 Red Squirrels Though it is difficult to measure changes in squirrel numbers, their range has shrunk considerably due largely to the spread of squirrel pox virus by invasive grey squirrel Alistair Marsh 7/11 Wildcats There has been a marked decline in wildcat populations, with only around 200 left in Scotland Rachel Profit 8/11 Badgers Due to legal protections badgers have recovered from past persecution and the density of their setts (holes) has increased by over 100% in recent decades Phil Mumby 9/11 Otters The banning of persistent organic pesticides has had a positive population effect on otters Allan Chard 10/11 Fallow Deer The 2018 review estimates a population size of fallow deer almost three times the size of that estimated in the 1995 review – a positive trend that is seen in other deer species. James Shooter 11/11 Eurasian Beavers These aquatic mammals were nearly extinct in Europe at the start of the 20th century, but their reintroduction to the UK have been largely successful Paul Scott 1/11 The Mammal Society’s assessment of Britain’s mammal populations is the first such review in over 20 years. The results reveal winners and losers, and highlight some of the key threat’s facing the country’s wildlife such as habitat loss, invasive species and the spread of diseases. 2/11 Hedgehogs Populations of the much-loved insectivore may have declined by as much as 73% Richard Bowler 3/11 Greater mouse-eared bats Only one of these flying mammals has been recorded in the whole country, in a railway tunnel in West Sussex Andrew Harrington 4/11 Rabbits Despite being a common sight across the countryside, rabbits have decreased in number by nearly 10% Danni Thompson 5/11 Black Rats Though not generally considered threatened animals, black rats number have collapsed in recent years due largely to pest control measures. However their far more common cousins, the brown rats, are thriving. Tim Melling 6/11 Red Squirrels Though it is difficult to measure changes in squirrel numbers, their range has shrunk considerably due largely to the spread of squirrel pox virus by invasive grey squirrel Alistair Marsh 7/11 Wildcats There has been a marked decline in wildcat populations, with only around 200 left in Scotland Rachel Profit 8/11 Badgers Due to legal protections badgers have recovered from past persecution and the density of their setts (holes) has increased by over 100% in recent decades Phil Mumby 9/11 Otters The banning of persistent organic pesticides has had a positive population effect on otters Allan Chard 10/11 Fallow Deer The 2018 review estimates a population size of fallow deer almost three times the size of that estimated in the 1995 review – a positive trend that is seen in other deer species. James Shooter 11/11 Eurasian Beavers These aquatic mammals were nearly extinct in Europe at the start of the 20th century, but their reintroduction to the UK have been largely successful Paul Scott The high-speed link between London and Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester is predicted to cut through at least 61 areas of woodland once it is completed in 2033. The Woodland Trust (WT) said last October that the expected destruction of 16.7 hectares of ancient woodland would be “catastrophic for the environment”. Support free-thinking journalism and subscribe to Independent Minds “HS2 is continuing to ride roughshod over precious, irreplaceable, centuries-old ancient woodland and in doing so the homes and populations of many wildlife species will be destroyed too,” WT ecologist Luci Ryan said at the time. “No amount of tree planting can ever make up for the loss of this precious habitat.” More about HS2 | Woodland Trust | Show{{#moreThan3_total}} {{value_total}} {{/moreThan3_total}} comments Comments Share your thoughts and debate the big issues Learn more (BUTTON) {{#singleComment_p}}{{value_p}} Independent Premium comment{{/singleComment_p}}{{^singleComment_p}}{{value_p}} Independent Premium comments{{/singleComment_p}} (BUTTON) {{#singleComment_open}}{{value}} open comment{{/singleComment_open}}{{^singleComment_open}}{{value}} open comments{{/singleComment_open}} Open Comments Join the discussion (BUTTON) Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. * You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully * Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable * Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties * We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. 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