Plan to save Scottish wildcat

Good news, but I am concerned about the possibility of inbreeding with feral domestic cats. I wonder how they are going to avoid this?
 
Arizona Docent said:
Good news, but I am concerned about the possibility of inbreeding with feral domestic cats. I wonder how they are going to avoid this?
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I went to a talk about this project during the summer - it seems that the basic plan is to release wildcats in large enough numbers that they will be able to breed among themselves and not be forced to breed with feral cats. I believe that was the methodology for reintroductions of wildcats in Germany, which has had low hybridisation rates despite the presence of feral cats.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Good news, but I am concerned about the possibility of inbreeding with feral domestic cats. I wonder how they are going to avoid this?
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How about banning the keeping and breeding of 'invasive species' such as the domestic cat. All we need is some suitable legislation... oh yes, we already do; it covers and bans really serious problem spp like Coatis....
 
DesertRhino150 said:
I went to a talk about this project during the summer - it seems that the basic plan is to release wildcats in large enough numbers that they will be able to breed among themselves and not be forced to breed with feral cats. I believe that was the methodology for reintroductions of wildcats in Germany, which has had low hybridisation rates despite the presence of feral cats.
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Does 3.1 constitute 'large enough numbers'...?
 
Andrew Swales said:
Does 3.1 constitute 'large enough numbers'...?
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Obviously not, but I believe the intention is currently to build a much larger facility that would enable greater numbers of wildcats to be bred. I imagine it would also be paired with neutering of domestic cats in the release areas.
 
I am with Andrew Swales. I think outdoor cats should be banned entirely from any countries in wildcat range. (Actually I think they should be banned worldwide). If I had my way, any domestic cat found outdoors in the area would be immediately killed. They also need to impose substantial fines on owners who let their cats outdoors.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I am with Andrew Swales. I think outdoor cats should be banned entirely from any countries in wildcat range. (Actually I think they should be banned worldwide). If I had my way, any domestic cat found outdoors in the area would be immediately killed. They also need to impose substantial fines on owners who let their cats outdoors.
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To a degree (!) I was being sarcastic, of course - BUT the fact remains that probably the rarest UK mammal is directly and immediately threatened by just one invasive spp - and that one spp is missing from ANY control legislation, whilst we have irrelevant spp banned from ownership and import. For political reasons of course...
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Obviously not, but I believe the intention is currently to build a much larger facility that would enable greater numbers of wildcats to be bred. I imagine it would also be paired with neutering of domestic cats in the release areas.
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3.1 to 'large enough numbers' in 3 years, sounds a bit of a challenge to me... perhaps any funds would be better spent elsewhere?
 
vogelcommando said:
And another - quite negative - article about the subject :
Why the Scottish wildcat is threatened by its ?saviour? | Kevin McKenna | Comment is free | The Observer
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Have to say that when I saw that the article had been written by a Mckenna my immiediate thought was :

"Oh , some born free animal rights activist ***** / possible a relative of Virginia Mckenna complaining about the culling of domestic cats in the Scottish highlands or captive breeding of the species being cruel".

I'm glad I confronted my bias by reading the article, as it turns out it was pretty well written and that the author is neither "born free" activist nor any relation of Virginia Mckenna.

It doesn't really suprise me that the SNH have responded slowly in the effort to conserve the Scottish wildcat though. Governments whether they be of the First world or Developing world / National or Federal variety often need to be continuously prodded and prompted to do something. Even when this is done there is often no one really at the helm when in governance when it comes to conservation of biodiversity , it is typically just an afterthought to most politicians.

Let us hope that there is still time for the wild cat
 
Giant Panda said:
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.
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Why am I not suprised by this. Infighting , egotism and lack of coordination / consensus are perennial problems in species conservation and it sadly the divisions and disputes just increase with the amount of organizations involved.

I hope they are able to reflect on the serious of the plight of the species and get their sh*t together and start working for the common goal of wild cat conservation.
 
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