A WILDLIFE Trust is calling for tougher laws to protect threatened species after claiming current regulations are woefully inadequate.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust says rare species such as the great crested newt - found in many East Lancashire mill lodges - and the dormouse and skylark are being let down by current wildlife legislation.

It is calling for urgent changes to the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, claiming it has so many gaps and inconsistencies that hundreds of sites which should be protected by it have been damaged or destroyed.

Trust director Anne Selby said: "The law is woefully inadequate. Lancashire Wildlife Trust is struggling hard to protect the county's rarest animals and plants, but these efforts are being impeded by weak legislation.

"The solution is to introduce new wildlife laws in the next Queen's Speech. They should focus both on improving protection for our most valuable habitats - Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

"Land managers need better advice and greater incentives to look after rare species, and that will mean improvements in agricultural policy and the planning process - all of which is achievable given enough political will."

The trust believes one of the biggest problems is the lack of enforcement of existing laws.

Despite more than 300 ponds inhabited by great crested newts being destroyed by development or agricultural expansion each year, there have been only two successful prosecutions for deliberate damage to such ponds.

Owners and managers of Sites of Special Scientific Interest have no legal obligation to safeguard the wildlife they contain, and there is little protection for species living outside SSSIs.

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