Captured Beauly Beaver Deaths: “Beavers require protection”

European beaver feeding © L.Campbell

Today came the depressing news that Scottish Natural Heritage's (SNH) attempts to, as they put it, relocate beavers living on the river Beauly, culminated in three animals being trapped, two of which have subsequently died.

The reason given for the relocation is that the beavers had been illegally released and despite the fact that the beavers have been peacefully living on the river Beauly for several years without causing any problems, it would seem that human legalities are considered more important than animal welfare. 

Below is a press release from Trees for Life

Reacting to news that two beavers trapped near

More than 100 cats trapped in fight to save endangered Scottish wildcats

facebook.com/saveourwildcats/

Action to save the enigmatic Scottish wildcat from extinction received a major boost this week with the news that more than 100 cats have been trapped during a recent neutering and vaccinating campaign.

Scottish Wildcat Action’s far-reaching Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return (TNVR) programme was carried out in its priority areas, including Morvern, Strathpeffer, Strathbogie, Northern Strathspey and the Angus Glens. These areas represent a total of 676 square miles (1750 square kilometres) of wildcat habitat.

Feral cats present a threat to wildcats by hybridising with them and diluting the gene pool. Since November last year three wildcat project officers, contractors and dozens of local volunteers helped to catch a total 115 cats.

Of these, 82 were taken to a veterinary surgeon for treatment and later returned, 12 feral kittens were rehomed, seven cats were either pet cats or had been neutered previously and so were all released and two were possible wildcats that were released without neutering. The remaining 12 feral cats sadly tested positive for disease or were in such poor condition and had to be put to sleep on welfare grounds.

Scottish Wildcat Action is a national project supported by the

Public asked to report rare hen harrier sightings

Female Hen Harrier - Scottish Natural Heritage

The public is being asked to report any hen harrier sightings this year by the ‘Heads Up for Harriers’ project group. Run by the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW Scotland), this is one part of the effort to help rare hen harriers.

Hen harriers frequent many Scottish moors, where their acrobatic aerial courtship displays are a tell-tale sign of breeding activity. But their distribution and numbers are still restricted in some areas.

A number of causes, including illegal persecution, land use changes and predation, have resulted in a reduction in hen harrier numbers, to the point that the hen harrier is now one of Britain’s rarest birds of prey. In reality, however, many factors are likely to come

Largest ever survey of Scottish wildcats commences

Photo:   Cairngorms Wildcat Project

The largest-ever survey of Scottish wildcats is now underway with more than 300 trail cameras live as from today.

The survey focuses on five of the wildcat priority areas of Scotland, including Strathpeffer, Strathbogie, Strathavon, North Strathspey and the Angus Glens. Work will be continuing in Morvern later in the year.

As part of Scottish Wildcat Action, these motion-sensitive cameras will monitor cats living in parts of the Highlands over a 60-day period.

Survey methods are informed by published scientific studies and a practical hands-on approach.

More than 130 volunteers will check the cameras. Data gathered will help inform wildcat protection measures including an extensive neutering campaign to stop feral and pet cats from interbreeding with the endangered wildcats and passing disease

Planting Scotland’s wee trees!

Trees for Life volunteers plant Scotland’s wee trees in Glen Affric

News from Trees for Life which I should have posted in December.

A group of hardy volunteers braved the cold and ventured to Coire Sneachdta in Glen Affric National Nature Reserve to take part in conservation charity Trees for Life’s ‘wee trees’ planting day on 27 November.

 

This project – part of Trees for Life’s award-winning restoration of the Caledonian Forest in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness – was made possible thanks to a grant through the CSV Action Earth scheme, which supports volunteers across Scotland in making a positive difference to their local

Scottish Wildcat is in imminent danger of extinction

Photo: Laurie Campbell Photography 

Hot on the heels of yesterdays post which included the recent press release from SNH, comes another from the Scottish Wildcat Association.

You'll notice that I've changed their headline for the title of this post, because although I echo their sentiments for urgent action, nobody is certain  how many pure bred wildcats are left in the wild, or in captivity for that matter.

For this to be established genetic testing is an absolute priority and it's high time for SNH to formalise their national conservation action plan for

Wildcat project comes to end but points the way for future action

Photo:   Cairngorms Wildcat Project

On the same day I was reading the final report on the Cairngorms Wildcat Project, I also received a sighting report of a large cat in this area; of wildcat size and appearance, including the typically thick, blunt and ringed tail.

This was a night time sighting in car headlights and can't be verified but I hope it's a good omen, even though the chances of it being a pure wildcat are extremely slim.

With official estimates of the remaining wildcat population in Scotland being continually down sized, and the latest from The Scottish Wildcat Association suggesting the number might be as low as 35, pure bred Scottish Wildcats could soon be extinct in the wild.

For the past year Dr O’Donoghue at the University of Chester, has been working in collaboration with Dr Ross McEwing at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland WildGenes Lab in Edinburgh, on developing a diagnostic genetic test to provide solid evidence of how many true Scottish wildcats actually