One of Britain’s most well-loved rivers has been pushed towards “complete ecological collapse” after farming unions successfully lobbied the government to water down key environmental legislation, openDemocracy can reveal.
Natural England recently downgraded the status of the River Wye, a designated Special Area of Conservation due to a decline of key species.
The decline is partly due to large quantities of manure being washed into the river from neighbouring farmland – with campaigners warning that environmental laws to limit the waste are not being enforced.
