2008 sees another highly pessimistic report by the Mammal Society (http://environment.independent.co.uk/nature/article3298381.ece) suggesting that a number of British Mammals are "in steep decline as man-made activities take their toll". Casualties include the European hedgehog that appears to have been subject to a decline in numbers of around 20% between 2001 and 2005. Attempts to blame this on the Badger (its only other natural foe) have not be supported but urbanisation with a tidy garden obsession might be a more convincing explanation of the decline ('affordable housing' may make this worse). Harbour seals have shown a 40% decline in Orkney and Shetland over the last 5 years and this has been tentatively linked to illegal culling by fishermen who see seals as 'stealing their fish'. Interbreeding with feral domestic cats seems to be a serious problem in the Scottish wild cat that may be down to around 400 individuals. It has been suggested that conservation of the species might be aided by genetic markers that will enable workers to distinguish 'pure' from 'cross-bred' cats but this may only serve to illustrate the level of the problem rather than offering a solution. Another declining species is the Red squirrel especially worrying as the first confirmed cases of squirrel pox virus (carried by, but not apparently influencing, the dominant Grey squirrel) were found in 'isolated' populations of reds on Anglesey (Wales) and Lockerbie (Scotland).
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