UK wildlife 'in shocking decline'

A "stocktake" of UK nature suggests 60% of animal and plant species have declined in the past 50 years - and one in 10 could end up disappearing.

Some 25 of the country's leading conservation groups, including the RSPB, Butterfly Conservation, the Mammals Society and the Wildlife Trust, have decided to produce a single stocktake of the countryside.

With 60% of species in decline and one in 10 threatened with extinction, the State of Nature report has been concerning scientist and environmentalist.

The Today programme's science correspondent, Tom Feilden, reports.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday 22 May 2013.