Half the world's wild animals have been wiped out since 1970
The number of wild animals on earth has halved in the past four decades, according to a new analysis. Land, river and sea creatures are being decimated as humans kill them for food in unsustainable numbers while polluting or destroying their habitats.
The number of wild animals on earth has halved in the past four decades, according to a new analysis.
"If half the animals died in London zoo next week it would be front page news," said Professor Ken Norris, the society's director of science. "But that is happening in the great outdoors. This damage is not inevitable but a consequence of how we live."
The steep decline in animal, fish and bird numbers was calculated by analysing 10,000 different populations, covering 3,000 species. This data was then used to create a representative Living Planet Index, reflecting the state of all 45,000 known vertebrates.
"We have all heard of the FTSE 100 index, but we have missed the ultimate indicator, the falling trend of species and ecosystems in the world," said Professor Jonathan Baillie, the society's director of conservation. "If we get [our response] right, we will have a safe and sustainable way of life."
If not, he added, the overuse of resources would ultimately lead to conflicts. He said the index was an "extremely robust indicator" and had been adopted by the UN's internationally agreed Convention on Biological Diversity as a key insight.
