BBC claims that reindeer populations were in ‘steep decline’ due to climate change are false
TV bosses were forced to issue a correction after BBC2's Russia with Simon Reeve gave incorrect information about the numbers of deer in Northern Russia
BBC claims that reindeer populations were in “steep decline” because of climate change have been proven to be false, it was confirmed yesterday.
Telly bosses were forced to issue a correction after it was found details in a wildlife series about the numbers of deer in Northern Russia were untrue.
The statement was made in the first episode of the recent BBC2 series “Russia with Simon Reeve”.
But as the complaint by Lord Lawson pointed out, a 2016 study showed 17 out of 19 sub populations of Eurasian deer were either increasing in number or had a stable population trend.
An official BBC statement admitted: “This programme suggested that many reindeer populations are in steep decline because of climate change.
“It would have been more accurate to say that many reindeer populations are threatened by it.”
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But the peer’s Global Warming Policy Foundation branded the comments “blatantly false”.
A spokesman said even claiming the reindeer populations are “threatened” was highly questionable due to their growing populations.