BY BERT BURNETT We are being told that European bison have been missing from Britain for 6,000 years and that bringing them back is essential for nature recovery. This claim is false. The European bison, also called the wisent, has never been recorded in Britain. The University of York has stated this clearly: “The wisent has never been recorded from Britain. The last bison to … Continue reading The Bison That Never Was
BY CALUM CAMPBELL Let’s be honest—if you’ve been following the latest rewilding headlines, you’ve probably had that sinking feeling in your gut. The one that says: here we go again. Right now, there’s a huge push to release pine martens into parts of the country where they haven’t set foot for centuries—if they ever even lived there at all. And while the PR machine is working overtime, … Continue reading Have We Learnt Absolutely Nothing?
BY CALUM CAMPBELL & NICK PEARCE The prospect of reintroducing wolves (Canis lupus) to the Scottish Highlands has become a recurring topic in environmental discourse, frequently accompanied by claims that this measure would naturally resolve Scotland’s deer management challenges, restore ecological equilibrium, and even contribute substantively to climate change mitigation. While these arguments possess considerable intuitive appeal and have garnered significant public support, a rigorous … Continue reading Rewilders’ Wolf Howlers
BY CALUM CAMPBELL There is a particular strain of environmentalist for whom the Scottish Highlands represent nothing less than a crime scene. They gaze upon the heather-clad hills and see a “devastated countryside” — a forest felled by human wickedness, kept treeless only by the tyranny of deer and sheep. There is only one problem. They are talking rot. Dr James Fenton, a retired ecologist, … Continue reading A Very Moorish Idyll
BY BERT BURNETT Rewilding or Revenue-Chasing? The rewilding lobby has done it again. In their latest bout of ecological romanticism, the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Wildlife Trusts have secured £15,000 to “study” the feasibility of reintroducing elk—or, more accurately, what Europeans insist on calling elk but which the rest of the world knows as moose (Alces alces). This is not conservation; it is a circus act, … Continue reading The Great ‘Elk’ Swindle
BY BERT BURNETT Rewilding, a concept that promotes restoring ecosystems to their natural state, has gained popularity in the UK as a solution to environmental degradation. The current government is apparently fond of it. Advocates herald it as a means to combat climate change, enhance biodiversity, and reconnect people with nature. However, the reality of rewilding is often far more complex and fraught with challenges. … Continue reading Another Rewilding Failure
BY VALERIUS GEIST Wolves mustn’t be coddled if we hope to balance them with modern ecosystems—and to avoid becoming prey Nothing convinces like personal experience! And I too am a slave to it. As an academic, I confess to this with some distress, because by training, experience, and attitude I should be above it. The fact that I am not alone in this habit is … Continue reading Wolves: When Ignorance is Bliss
BY ALENA WILDE Many parts of southern England are capable of supporting, breeding and wintering White-tailed Eagles, but the Isle of Wight was considered the most suitable location for their reintroduction. It is the last known breeding site of the species in southern England, located close to highly suitable foraging areas in the Solent and surrounding estuaries, with numerous potential nesting sites in woods and … Continue reading Isle of Wight Sea Eagles
BY CALUM CAMPBELL On moving back to the Grantown area in 2020, I made it a priority to try and photograph Blackcock the following Spring. I got the chance on a sporting estate near the headwaters of the River Spey. On doing a little research, I discovered all is not well with the Blackcock population in the UK. Hence the reason they have been put … Continue reading Blackgame Dewilding
BY BERT BURNETT This is the likely scenario when or if some of the newly proposed National Parks come into being: Meanwhile this is an example of the glorifying of rewilding by armchair experts: The rewilders shouldn’t feel proud, they should be ashamed. This is land on which waders and birds like skylarks should be thriving yet they are all struggling to stave of local … Continue reading Carnage in the Countryside
BY MURRAY F HUNTER Our much-loved Borders landscape is under attack from three directions by forces that someone sitting in an office – never having been to our area – could easily sign off as ticking all the boxes, as if that is the best we could do for the environment and global warming. The first is from wind. As I understand it, with permission, … Continue reading The Hills and Fields of Eskdale
BY DR STEVE CARVER Steve Carver replies to Dominic Wightman’s review of Ian Coghill’s book “Moorland Matters”: It matters for a whole host of reasons including carbon storage, water supply, flood mitigation, biodiversity and wildlife habitats. For Ian Coghill it matters for grouse, and though he rarely shoots them himself (he’s not a rich man and is at pains to point this out) he has … Continue reading Moorland DOES Matter
