Dogs are the cause of a decline in bluebells and our love affair with our tail wagging friends should come to an end, says feminist Germaine Greer, according to the Daily Mail.

Dogs killing bluebell fungus

The outspoken academic, who owns a bluebell wood in Essex, told the Hay on Wye literary festival that dog owners walking their pets through bluebells are killing off a fungus called mycorrhiza necessary for them to grow because of a bacteria in their faeces.

'Endless love affair should end'

"But the real threat to our bluebells is not a foreign invader," Greer said. "It is the use we make of the woodlands, people running through them, taking photos of each other standing on trampled bluebells.

"And, at the risk of making you all very cross, may I suggest it is also time that the British gave up on their endless love affair with the dog.

"Even the most proactive woodland organisations like the Woodland Trust do not dare to say to dog walkers - who are about the only people who care about our woods - that they may not bring their dogs into the woods.

"Something you need to know about dog poo is that it is full of phosphorous and it changes the environment and it will kill the mycorrhiza. If you love your bluebells, kill your dog."