Reintroducing wolves to UK could hit rewilding support, expert says
This story shows just how “wild” the whole re-wilding agenda is getting. I’ve been collecting stories in And Finally for a decade about weird charismatic mega fauna but this whole agenda is starting to get a bit out of control now. Anyone for releasing alligators into the Chesterfield Canal…?????
Demands to reintroduce predators such as wolves and bears could significantly damage public support for rewilding the British countryside, a senior conservationist has said.
Francesca Osowska, chief executive of NatureScot, a government conservation agency, said rewilding could only succeed if it won support from people living in and managing the countryside, including farmers and Highland estate managers who are worried about losing their livelihoods.
She said focusing on totemic predators such as wolves risked alienating the people living in rural areas whose involvement is essential if the large-scale restoration programmes needed to address the climate and nature emergencies were to succeed.
Osowska said: “We need to think about rewilding as a much broader concept. We need to think about restoring all of nature, not just large mammals. And that goes from the pine hoverfly to ensuring that we’ve the right mix of forestry – different land types to have that mosaic of habitats.
“The vision I want is of a nature-rich future. Nature-rich means we’re all touched by and living in harmony with nature and able to benefit from it.”