Gardeners have been warned not to kill slugs or snails, in a bid to save the UK's declining wild bird population. Bird numbers in the UK have steadily declined in the UK in the past 50 years and 48% of bird species have seen a fall in numbers in the five years between 2015 and 2020.
A reduced numbers of weeds and shorter lawns have contributed to the decline, because of fewer insects, slugs and snails for birds to eat in urban environments. Killing slugs and snails also reduces threatened hedgehog numbers.
In 2021, slug pellets containing a toxin metaldehyde were banned from sale in the UK. That's because the toxin was also poisonous to birds who ate the slugs which had eaten the pellets.
