Oresai
11-22-2008, 06:40 PM
(the real ones, that is, not the plethora of net users who cull the wolf as avatar ;) )
source, the scotsman online.
Controversial return of the big beasts 'will not pose risk to humans'
Date: 22 November 2008
By Jenny Haworth
Environment Correspondent
THE threat of bears and wolves to humans and livestock should not be a barrier to bringing them back to Scotland, according to a top conservationist.
Rob Thomas, one of the scientists behind the controversial re-establishment of the beaver, would like to see the return of the big beasts that once roamed in the wild.
Bears have been extinct in Scotland for more than 1,000 years and wolves were wiped out in the mid-18th century.
Mr Thomas said there was "always hope" of returning the animals, and added: "A lot of the excuses that are put up are quite weak.
"All these things are controversial and they always lead to conflict, but these conflicts can be resolved," he said.
His views are not shared by the farming sector in Scotland, which predicts the predators could put not just livestock, but also humans, at risk.
Mr Thomas, conservation and research manager at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, rejects the argument that wolves and bears could present a danger to humans in a world more populated than hundreds of years ago.
"The population of Scotland north of the Central Belt is considerably less than it used to be when there were plenty of carnivores wandering about," he said. "Humans then lived alongside them."
Asked about the potential uproar if a wolf killed a child, he said: "Wolves don't eat babies. They don't go marauding round Mothercare looking for prey. People kill babies. Wolves don't."
He thinks there is no reason not to try putting wolves in Scotland, and "seeing what happens". And in terms of the potential of predators to kill livestock, he said: "If there needs to be some stock-take compensation in place, then so be it."
However, he recognised the idea of returning predators was not popular with everybody and said he could empathise with farmers.
"They may not be making a fortune and their world is the 30 acres they farm.
"I appreciate the pressures on small farmers and landowners. Reassurances need to be given and awareness needs to be raised."
But he suggested that with more immediate issues, such as the financial crisis, to worry about, re-establishing species like bears to Scotland would not be top priority.
He said he believed the earliest bears could return would be in "maybe 400 years".
A spokeswoman for the National Farmers' Union Scotland said the idea of returning bears and wolves caused "huge concern".
"Even animals and birds such as ravens and foxes are capable of killing livestock," she said.
"Wolves or bears would be far more extreme.
"One of the counter-arguments is that you could have compensation in place but there's more to it than that.
"The damage that some of these animals do is quite horrific. Farmers don't just farm to make a living, but because it's their passion. To have to deal with any injury or death at the hands of another animal is a worry."
She said another problem would be the impact on ramblers, particularly if farmers were held responsible.
"If you are one of these people who enjoys taking long walks in the countryside, you might not be very enthusiastic about bumping into a bear," she said.
"Farmers have a responsibility towards people who are taking access on their land.
"If you have a bull in the field, you have a responsibility if it's dangerous. There could be the argument that if these animals are roaming around on a farmer's land and do damage to a person, then the farmer could be responsible.
"Then what happens? I don't think anybody knows the answer to that."
Background
BEAVERS, which were hunted to extinction in Scotland 400 years ago, will be returned to the wild in May.
Four families flew into Heathrow from Norway on Thursday evening and will spend the next six months in quarantine before being released in a trial project in a forest in Argyll.
The idea of also returning the lynx, which last prowled around Scotland thousands of years ago, is gathering support, although some farmers have expressed fears the big cats could take livestock.
The howl of wolves could be heard in Scotland until the mid-18th century, when they were wiped out by hunters. Wolves have returned to other parts of Europe, but there are fears over the impact they could have on livestock and humans.
Similarly, the occasional aggressiveness of brown bears, wiped out in Scotland by the tenth century, is a barrier to the possibility of hearing their growls in the wild again.
source, the scotsman online.
Controversial return of the big beasts 'will not pose risk to humans'
Date: 22 November 2008
By Jenny Haworth
Environment Correspondent
THE threat of bears and wolves to humans and livestock should not be a barrier to bringing them back to Scotland, according to a top conservationist.
Rob Thomas, one of the scientists behind the controversial re-establishment of the beaver, would like to see the return of the big beasts that once roamed in the wild.
Bears have been extinct in Scotland for more than 1,000 years and wolves were wiped out in the mid-18th century.
Mr Thomas said there was "always hope" of returning the animals, and added: "A lot of the excuses that are put up are quite weak.
"All these things are controversial and they always lead to conflict, but these conflicts can be resolved," he said.
His views are not shared by the farming sector in Scotland, which predicts the predators could put not just livestock, but also humans, at risk.
Mr Thomas, conservation and research manager at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, rejects the argument that wolves and bears could present a danger to humans in a world more populated than hundreds of years ago.
"The population of Scotland north of the Central Belt is considerably less than it used to be when there were plenty of carnivores wandering about," he said. "Humans then lived alongside them."
Asked about the potential uproar if a wolf killed a child, he said: "Wolves don't eat babies. They don't go marauding round Mothercare looking for prey. People kill babies. Wolves don't."
He thinks there is no reason not to try putting wolves in Scotland, and "seeing what happens". And in terms of the potential of predators to kill livestock, he said: "If there needs to be some stock-take compensation in place, then so be it."
However, he recognised the idea of returning predators was not popular with everybody and said he could empathise with farmers.
"They may not be making a fortune and their world is the 30 acres they farm.
"I appreciate the pressures on small farmers and landowners. Reassurances need to be given and awareness needs to be raised."
But he suggested that with more immediate issues, such as the financial crisis, to worry about, re-establishing species like bears to Scotland would not be top priority.
He said he believed the earliest bears could return would be in "maybe 400 years".
A spokeswoman for the National Farmers' Union Scotland said the idea of returning bears and wolves caused "huge concern".
"Even animals and birds such as ravens and foxes are capable of killing livestock," she said.
"Wolves or bears would be far more extreme.
"One of the counter-arguments is that you could have compensation in place but there's more to it than that.
"The damage that some of these animals do is quite horrific. Farmers don't just farm to make a living, but because it's their passion. To have to deal with any injury or death at the hands of another animal is a worry."
She said another problem would be the impact on ramblers, particularly if farmers were held responsible.
"If you are one of these people who enjoys taking long walks in the countryside, you might not be very enthusiastic about bumping into a bear," she said.
"Farmers have a responsibility towards people who are taking access on their land.
"If you have a bull in the field, you have a responsibility if it's dangerous. There could be the argument that if these animals are roaming around on a farmer's land and do damage to a person, then the farmer could be responsible.
"Then what happens? I don't think anybody knows the answer to that."
Background
BEAVERS, which were hunted to extinction in Scotland 400 years ago, will be returned to the wild in May.
Four families flew into Heathrow from Norway on Thursday evening and will spend the next six months in quarantine before being released in a trial project in a forest in Argyll.
The idea of also returning the lynx, which last prowled around Scotland thousands of years ago, is gathering support, although some farmers have expressed fears the big cats could take livestock.
The howl of wolves could be heard in Scotland until the mid-18th century, when they were wiped out by hunters. Wolves have returned to other parts of Europe, but there are fears over the impact they could have on livestock and humans.
Similarly, the occasional aggressiveness of brown bears, wiped out in Scotland by the tenth century, is a barrier to the possibility of hearing their growls in the wild again.