Bird protection charity, the
RSPB, is calling for more help for Northumberland’s iconic eider duck, 1,300
years after St Cuthbert introduced the first laws to safeguard its future.
Also known as Cuddy’s duck –
after St Cuthbert – it is believed eiders inspired the saint to create the
world’s first conservation legislation in the eighth century, apparently
decreeing that no one should eat or disturb those nesting on the Northumberland
coast.
More than a millennium later,
eiders remain a cause for conservation concern. They are declining throughout
Europe as a result of hunting, pollution and disturbance.
Early this year, the Government
designated the stretch of sea between Whitley Bay and Alnwick in Northumberland
as the Coquet to St Mary’s Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), which will form part
of a network of protected areas around England’s seas. However, as it currently
stands, the nationally important population of eiders that live within this
zone all year round will not be covered by the new legislation.
Now the RSPB is calling on
Thérèse Coffey, Minister for Environment, to add eiders as a feature to the
MCZ, which means that protection and management for birds can be put into
place. They need people to show they care about the future of this integral
part of Northumberland culture by writing to their MP and getting them to tell
the Minister why this bird needs to be protected.
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