Plan to save Scottish wildcat

The article makes it seem like a promising plan. But if you read the response from the Scottish Wildcat Association (in the gray box), they have nothing but condemnation for it. I have no inside knowledge, but my gut instinct would be to trust the Wildcat Association. They (SWA) also mention they are working with Aspinall on a new breeding center, which I was unaware of.
 
Arizona Docent said:
They (SWA) also mention they are working with Aspinall on a new breeding center, which I was unaware of.
Click to expand...

Short report here BBC News - Kent Aspinall Foundation sets up wildcat breeding base.
The breeding centre will be on the Isle of Carna (which is unknown to Google maps :p - but is actually just off the west coast of Scotland, although the nearest town is Tobermory on the Isle of Mull).
I heard an interview with Damian Aspinall on the radio this morning. He would like to make the breeding centre a visitor attraction eventually and to release captive-bred cats on the island.

Alan
 
Arizona Docent said:
The article makes it seem like a promising plan. But if you read the response from the Scottish Wildcat Association (in the gray box), they have nothing but condemnation for it. I have no inside knowledge, but my gut instinct would be to trust the Wildcat Association. They (SWA) also mention they are working with Aspinall on a new breeding center, which I was unaware of.
Click to expand...

Having read the article(but not the full report) I am unclear as to what this Government funded action plan actually entails, if it isn't to preserve the remaining 'pure' Scottish Wildcats. The SWA criticises the plan for not doing this, so what exactly will it be doing? The SWA plan, to conserve the last remaining pure cats, and working in conjunction with the Aspinall foundation project, seems to be attempting this but criticises the Government plan for not doing so.:confused:
 
The SWA and JAF plan for Scottish wildcat is actually seen to be establishing a breeding center in the most likely area to be able to preserve a natural and pure-bred wild cat population in Scotland. The government plan is not even way far at the funding stage ... and looks to be too little too late approach if they only want to start in 2014. Secondly, they would need to "kill" a lot of domestic or semi-wild hybrids around the areas where SWC pures are still around. And they are not doing anything at this moment in time ... The SWA has always been the leading light in there.
 
I think I get it now. The SWA (which is currently being wound up and turned into some other wildcat trust) in conjunction with the Aspinall Foundation is more of an active and immediate hands-on campaign, aimed at producing more pure wildcats in an area completely(or as near as) free of other domestic or hybrid cats after they have all been eradicated/neutered. It will take place initially on the island of Carna, using wildcats DNA tested(using a new test?) for purity captured on the nearby Mainland, - and also presumably from captive-bred stock too if they meet the criteria for purity.

Whereas the government -funded scheme is more passive and is aimed at neutering ferals and protecting/ringfencing five existing wildcat populations. One of these presumably is in the Cairngorms, and arguments are that these cats, because of surrounding civilisation can never be fully protected from hybridisation. There seems also to be a suggestion that this 2nd project would not be so rigorous in its selection for what exactly defines 'pure' Scottish wildcats, either.
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know exactly how many pure, or close-to-pure Wildcats are currently held in captivity, and where they are?
 
gentle lemur said:
The breeding centre will be on the Isle of Carna (which is unknown to Google maps :p - but is actually just off the west coast of Scotland, although the nearest town is Tobermory on the Isle of Mull).
Click to expand...

I found it quite easily on Google Maps.

The big Peninsula( Ardnamurchan) just north of it is the one being created as a Wildcat Haven, by neutering (all) feral and (most) hybrid cats in the area. Eventually this concept may be extended to further adjoining Peninsula areas which are also bounded by water on most sides and so can be controlled Zones also.

Carna is the location of the complementary captive breeding scheme that is planned. They may or may not use any of the Wildcats that are currently captive for this. Wildcat Haven project (formerly SWA) that is running all this, say that these are all hybrid to some degree, -including those at HWP and Port Lympne. Less than ten are considered 'highgrade' though and these could become part of a 'back breeding' programme if necessary. They would rather find sufficient genuine pure wildcats if at all possible- one method might be to remove a third kitten from wild litters as more than two rarely survive to maturity. This has been done with Iberian Lynx.
 
Last edited:
The two projects still seem very much at odds with each other.:( This plan is criticised by the Wildcat Haven/Aspinall Foundation project taking place on the Ardnamurchan pensinsula, as not having the right criteria to identify and protect pure Wildcats. They say that by accepting a more relaxed criteria on hybridisation the scheme will be conserving a more diluted/hybridised version of Wildcat, rather than the pure form. One of the six ares listed-the Cairngorms, is also regarded as being impractical on the basis pure wildcats are no longer present in the region, and even if they were, can't be protected because the region has too high a human population, with the many attendant feral and pet cats making controls impossible.
 
I also believe the idea of a captive breeding facility on the small island of Carna, which was supported/funded by the Aspinall Foundation, has been abandoned(or deferred)- the enclosure was started but not sure whether it was actually completed or if AF is still involved with it.
 
vogelcommando said:
Wildcat Haven vs Scottish Natural Heritage :
Claws are out in battle to save Scottish wildcat from extinction (From Herald Scotland)
Click to expand...

It's not really a battle between conservationists; more Wildcat Haven's ill-informed mud-slinging against just about everyone else. Why they think they have a monopoly on "pure" wildcats remains unclear, given that nobody knows whether there are even any pure wildcats left. However, it's good to see SNH and others getting coverage to debunk their nonsense.
 
Its a pity the two bodies can't work together but the gulf between them appears to be too large now. Wildcat Haven has presented an increasingly hostile stance toward SNH et al. I think their(WH's) policy should be given a chance though. They are only working in just one of the six Wildcat priority areas identified by SNH, so would it not be better if that one area was left alone in order to see how this alternative option works longerterm?
 
Pertinax said:
Its a pity the two bodies can't work together but the gulf between them appears to be too large now. Wildcat Haven has presented an increasingly hostile stance toward SNH et al. I think their(WH's) policy should be given a chance though. They are only working in just one of the six Wildcat priority areas identified by SNH, so would it not be better if that one area was left alone in order to see how this alternative option works longerterm?
Click to expand...

Long-term, it works like this: a consortium of respected organizations (not just SNH) have their names dragged through the mud, and conservation efforts are weakened by lack of coordination. Wildcat Haven have been given every chance to cooperate, but consistently chosen not to.

The wildcat situation is so dire that every population counts, regardless of whether one agency disagrees with the action plan. This is especially true given WH's ignorance (wilful or otherwise) of new developments, and the lack of clarity about what they actually are doing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top