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The Bird Rescuers

Around the world, birds are under threat. But in the Canadian city of Toronto, and the ocean off the coast of Namibia, people are designing clever ways to keep them safe.

One of every five bird species could be extinct within the next century. Whether it’s down to the shiny glass office blocks materialising all over cities or the trawlers sailing ever-further out to sea to feed our growing population, our birds are seriously under threat. This episode looks at two particular successes when it comes to helping the world’s feathered friends: how Toronto has become a world leader in making cities bird-friendly, and how a group of enterprising conservationists has almost eliminated the deaths of albatrosses as a result of deep-sea fishing.

Presenter: Tom Collls
Producer: Harriet Noble

Image: Pair of albatrosses
Credit: Shutterstock

CORRECTION: In this programme we say that two buildings in Toronto where bird collisions were high lost court cases and had to be adapted. In fact they did not lose the court cases. The charges were dismissed but as a result of the trial bird-safe markers were applied to sections of the buildings.

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23 minutes

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