Broadcaster and nature campaigner claims Labour’s attack on wildlife in push for economic growth is ‘PR disaster’ Bats are being “scapegoated” by Rachel Reeves, Chris Packham has said, after the chancellor suggested the winged creatures were getting in the way of economic growth. Reeves recently said she wanted businesses to “focus on getting things built, and stop worrying about the bats and the newts”, and this week the press release announcing her shake-up of all the UK’s regulators mentioned bats six times. A very niche directive to Natural England, the nature watchdog, to take advice from ..read more

Campaigners welcome long-delayed proposals to reduce pesticide-related harms to pollinators The use of pesticides on UK farms is to be reduced by 10% by 2030 under government plans to protect bees and other pollinators. Campaigners welcomed the news, but said they were disappointed that the target applied only to arable farms and not to urban areas and parks ..read more

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world ..read more

Researchers describe widespread contamination of plastics in the bodies of more than 50 different bird species A new study has provided the first evidence that microplastics are accumulating in bird lungs. Birds have long been used to give early warnings of environmental risks. The absence of birdsong was used in the evocative title of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring, and for more than a century miners carried caged canaries to warn of carbon monoxide – a practice that ended in UK coalmines only in 1996 ..read more

Hove, East Sussex: Last spring was a washout, but this year – after a few home improvements – my garden is buzzing I sit in my front garden, which is surely a contender for world’s smallest meadow – a tiny square, rich with native grasses, primroses, lungwort, crocuses and the last of the snowdrops. Leaves poke through the soil, telling me that scabious and knapweed will soon bloom, along with betony, meadowsweet and viper’s bugloss. The one red campion, which has been in flower since December, will be joined by others, and the whole space, in all its tiny glory, might buzz with the hum o ..read more

Research finds yellow warblers near busy roads turn aggressive when traffic drowns out their territorial songs, and noise pollution could cause clashes If the rumble of trucks, honk of car horns and bustle of the roads leaves you irritable, you are not alone – researchers say the sound of traffic can leave birds in a rage, too. Researchers have found male Galápagos yellow warblers that live near busy roads on the islands behave more aggressively when they hear songs from another male if they occur in the presence of traffic sounds ..read more

Two animals tested positive after being rescued in Appin, prompting biosecurity measures to stop the disease spreading Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Chlamydia has spread to Sydney’s only disease-free koala population with two koalas testing positive after they were rescued late last year. The koalas were tested after they were found in Appin in south-western Sydney in September with injuries suggesting they had both been hit by cars. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email ..read more

Amendment brought by coalition of parties says wolves add to food waste due to remains of livestock they kill The Spanish parliament has voted through a measure that will in effect lift the hunting ban on wolves that was imposed in 2021. A coalition led by the conservative People’s party, with the support of the far-right Vox party and Basque and Catalan nationalists, added an amendment to a law aimed at reducing Spain’s estimated 1.2bn kilos of food waste ..read more

Conservationists voice concern that the Ontario theme park will struggle to find suitable homes for its animals Canada’s embattled Marineland theme park is to raise money to “expeditiously” remove animals from its grounds, including the world’s largest captive beluga population, as it looks for a buyer. But a lack of available sanctuaries in the country suggests finding a home for stranded whales, dolphins and pinnipeds will be a daunting task. In February, the park won approval to divide its sprawling property so it can take out mortgages on separate parcels, with the aim of using the funds t ..read more

A contagious, fatal illness in deer, elk and moose has taken hold in the US and is now reaching other countries. While it has not infected humans yet, the risk is growing In a scattershot pattern that now extends from coast to coast, continental US states have been announcing new hotspots of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The contagious and always-fatal neurodegenerative disorder infects the cervid family that includes deer, elk, moose and, in higher latitudes, reindeer. There is no vaccine or treatment ..read more