Disappearing wildlife

Roger Lovegrove (Oxford University Press, £25)

Our elimination of a species such as the polecat has been so successful that the name has been eradicated from public consciousness, yet it was numerous throughout Britain until three or four generations ago.

In this book, subtitled The Long Decline of a Nation's Wildlife, Lovegrove paints a detailed picture of a topic which has enormous relevance today, as public concern about the environment rises and controversies rage about hunting, wildlife management and the reintroduction of ancient species.

Lovegrove, who was director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds until his retirement in 1997, begins by pointing out that humans have never accepted that nature can be left to look after itself without intervention. It's this intervention that he so painstakingly documents in this remarkable book about the war of attrition against native mammals and birds of our country.

He investigated the complex relationship between mankind and the creatures that have shared our land. His findings are fascinating - compulsive reading, actually - as they highlight not just the wholesale war that mankind raged on predatory birds and mammals, but also songbirds which were taken for the table or caged as pets during the 19th century. Earlier exterminations date as far back as parish records go.

He concludes by asking what will define wildlife managementand vermin control in the 21st century, and questioning whether we are capable of finding acceptable balances or coming up with the right solutions to both satisfy human interests and sustain our native wildlife.