Lutra 52(1)_Thissen et al_2009

The 2006 national Red List of mammals of the Netherlands and a IUCN Regional Red List

A proposal for a second Red List of mammals of the Netherlands was published in 2006 by the Society for the Study and Conservation of Mammals. Following Dutch national criteria it covers all 57 mammal species that have regularly reproduced in the Netherlands within a specified period. This 2006 Red List includes 24 species: three Extinct in the Netherlands, one Extinct in the wild in the Netherlands, two Critically Endangered, two Endangered, nine Vulnerable and seven Near Threatened. This article compares this new list with the previous one (from 1994) and adjusts the methods and data used for the earlier one to achieve an appropriate comparison. The reconstructed 1994 Red List comprises 20 species. So, in the past twelve years the Red List has become somewhat longer, although the degree of threat is nowadays less. Generally speaking species found within agricultural landscapes are faring worse, while marine mammals and most bats are doing better. At the same time a separate Red List has been prepared following the internationally used version 3.1 of the IUCN Categories and Criteria. This allows a comparison between the situation in the Netherlands and that in other countries. This IUCN Regional Red List assesses the status of 63 species. Of these, three are Regionally Extinct, one is Regionally Extinct in the Wild, six are Critically Endangered, seven are Endangered, five are Vulnerable and four are Near Threatened. The Data Deficient (DD) category is also part of the IUCN Red List and comprises four species. The IUCN criteria give a more negative picture of the state of Dutch mammal fauna than the Dutch criteria. The most important threats to Dutch mammal fauna come from intensified land use (resulting in the disappearance and deterioration of wetlands and of heterogenous rural landscapes), thoughtless or inadequate management measures in e.g. forests and unproductive parts of the countryside and increasing traffic (resulting in an ever increasing number of road casualties).