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Thursday 31 October 2013

Of Wolves & Fences & Access: Alladale Plans Resurface


Alladale scenery

Way back in 2007 I wrote a series of blog posts about the proposals by landowner Paul Lister for a huge electrified fence round his Alladale estate in northern Scotland, inside which he planned on releasing wolves and other large animals. People would then be charged large sums to be taken on guided trips to see the wildlife. The proposals received a great deal of publicity - releasing wolves caught the media's attention and Lister had good PR people - but came to nothing other than a few small enclosures for moose and boars. Then in 2010 it was announced that the plans to release wolves had been abandoned and everyone concerned with this threat to access breathed a sigh of relief.

The last few days however have seen a sudden media blitz about the same proposal, mostly on BBC radio but also in newspapers and on TV. There doesn't seem to be anything different in the scheme other than Lister offering to talk to organisations like Ramblers Scotland and the John Muir Trust but he obviously feels it's worth reviving. I wasn't totally surprised to hear Lister promote the scheme again as he'd popped up with a question about releasing wolves at the talk by George Monbiot at the Edinburgh Book Festival I attended in August (see this blog post). Monbiot responded that he was in favour of wolf reintroduction. However in response to a later question Monbiot also said he was very opposed to any restrictions on access.

Unsurprisingly Lister's PR push has had a big response on the internet with much discussion on social networking sites. The best piece I've seen, which outlines the history of this story, is Cameron McNeish's on the Walk Highlands website, which I recommend.

My own view hasn't changed since 2007 when I said that the fence would be an eyesore and an insult to nature as well as breaching our hard-won access rights. I also wrote ' Lister says “it would not be practical to have people walking around Alladale while wolves roam". In fact there is no reason why people and wolves couldn’t coexist as they do in many other parts of the world. I’ve walked 1,000s of miles in wolf terrain in North America and seen wild wolves and heard them howling at night, which are wonderful experiences. I’d love to do so in the Highlands. Reintroducing wolves to the Highlands is a great idea but would only work with public support and in areas where the habitat is suitable. I’d like to see more wildness in the Highlands but not a safari park.'

That all these arguments have to be restated is disappointing but if Lister persists in promoting his ideas it's necessary to do so. No-one can be allowed to override access rights, whatever the reason. At the same time opposing Lister's fence does not mean opposing rewilding or the reintroduction of missing wildlife.

10 comments:

  1. Completely agree. It's the wrong way to go about rewilding and highlights all that's wrong with land ownership in the Highlands. Cameron McNeish's point that reintroductions should be managed by SNH (a public body) for the benefit of all is spot on.

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  2. Spot on Chris. Its obvious Mr Lister's motivation is commerce NOT conservation..

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  3. Back in 2010 I wrote that I would not be surprised if history records Lister as a visionary, albeit a misguided one.

    http://livingmountain.net/2010/02/an-alternative-to-alladale.html

    You've reminded me that I must get round to reading Monbiot's book about re-wilding. Got a few others to get through first though......

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    1. Gavin, I don't think Lister will go down as a visionary. Monbiot on the other hand .... I definitely recommend Feral. And Jim Crumley's The Last Wolf.

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  4. Providing the wolves have a natural food supply (and they almost certainly would have) I cannot see them roaming free without fences as a danger to people. Like most wild animals, they would probably give humans a wide berth. Bears on the other hand....that's a different story.

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  5. I think it would be great to re-introduce wolves, and agree that they should roam free- there's a lot of fear and superstition around them but as Ian says they tend to avoid humans and the average walker would be extremely lucky to catch even a glimpse of one.

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  6. I think it would be great for wolves to be re-introduced to the highlands. No fences to hold them in thou as they deserve to roam free. I grew up in the highlands and would have loved to have seen them. I also saw a show last night and the ranger in yellowstone park reckons its been over 400 years since a wolf killed a human in North America as they go out of their way to avoid contact with humans.

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    1. They've killed in the last few years. And livestock is constantly under threat from them.

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  7. I live pretty close to problem wildlife areas, protected only by gun owners farther to the west of me and I'd say the issue isn't keeping people out, it's keeping the killers in.

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