The badly decomposed body of the wildcat was found on land in the Grantown area and has now been sent away by Northern Constabulary to a forensic laboratory for further examination.

The animal is believed to have had its stomach deliberately slit and could have been used illegally as carrion to poison pests such as foxes or along with snares which may have been set close-by.

A source said that it was too early to say if poison had been used in the incident but confirmed that there had been hallmarks of baiting. "I have heard of deer carcasses being used in such a way but never that of a wildcat," he said.

The revelation comes as the SNP Government announced earlier in the week that they would not be banning snares but instead bringing in tighter controls governing their use.

Just a few days before that a new wildcat survey was launched at the Highland Wildlife Park by Kincraig by Scottish Natural Heritage - the first in 20 years - to try and establish the remaining numbers of the secretative and mostly solitary species as part of a project to protect their declining population.

Wildcats could once be found around the UK but since Victorian times they have only survived in Scotland in habitat margins between mountain and moorland and forest and field.

They remain under threat due to continuing loss of their habitat, interbreeding with domestic and feral cats, predator control legal and illegal such as poisoning and spread of disease.

Mr John Robins, spokesman for Animal Concern, said: "It was deliberate persecution by keepers and estate owners which drove the Scottish Wildcat to the edge of extinction. To learn that this wanton cruelty continues in the 21st Century beggars belief.

"If this animal was deliberately killed or used as a poisoned bait to kill other animals and birds the police must be given all the resources they need to catch the culprit.

"However, even if the individual is brought to court the chances are he or she will get little more than a slap on the wrist."

Some animal welfare campaigners want the law changed so that land owners are legally responsible for the actions of their employees and firearms licenses revoked for any keeper or farmer found guilty of wildlife crime.

Mr Robins continued: "I was amazed that only hours after launching a campaign to protect wildcats the Environment Minister Mike Russell refused to ban the use of snares – snares being one of the main reasons that wildcats are even rarer than politicians with commonsense.

"There are plenty of far more humane ways to deter or kill rabbits and foxes. I’m afraid Mike Russell did our wildlife a great disservice by refusing to ban snares."

Northern Constabulary said that inquiries were continuing into the discovery made on February 10. "We can confirm that a dead wildcat was found in the Grantown area and an investigation into the matter is currently on-going," said a force spokesman.

Around the same time a domestic cat was killed at Crubenmore in a Fen Trap which is set in a tunnel and legal to use.

Amongst the tougher measures to be introduced by the Scottish Government on snaring are the compulsory fitting of ID tags on snares so that the owner can be identified by the authorities; introducing training and qualifications for those settings snares; and compulsory fitting of crimped safety stops to prevent the noose closing too far. Any snare which is not staked in place will have to be fixed in the future with an anchor that cannot be dragged away.

Animal welfare organisations have condemned the Scottish Government for not outlawing snares claiming that MSPs were more interested in maintaining their vote than upsetting rural voter but the decision was hailed as "pragmatic" by a host of rural organisations. They included the Scottish Countryside Alliance, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, NFU Scotland and the National Sheep Association.

Mr James Scott, spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation in Scotland, said: "The proposals for the future of snaring represent the best possible balance between retaining an essential tool in predator management, which benefits many species of wildlife, whilst ensuring that the use of snare is conducted to the highest possible standards."

The Cairngorms National Park Authority also welcomed the decision. Park convener David Green said: "The park authority in its response stated that we did not support an outright ban and instead advocated a sensible approach, incorporating controls that reduce the risk of catching non-target species like badger, wildcat and otter and that avoid animal suffering as much as possible.

"Where there are high densities of foxes, a ban on snaring could have a detrimental effect on ground nesting birds, and high numbers of rabbits could lead to other ecological damage.

"While we would always prefer that land managers try to use alternative means of control, we appreciate this is sometimes not practicable."

Mr Russell said he empathised with those who campaigned for a complete ban on snaring but maintained that they were still needed in some cases. "No responsible politician can ignore the fact that there are those who argue equally passionately that snaring is a regrettable but essential tool for high quality land management in Scotland," he said.

"Such people also have a keen interest in and concern for wildlife and their view - that snaring plays a key role in maintaining the iconic Scottish landscape of heather clad hillsides, alive with a rich diversity of species - cannot be lightly set aside.

"A Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust field experiment showed that predator control increased the breeding stock of the wild grey partridge by 42 per cent. Without such control, stocks declined in most years.

"The national parks staff at Loch Lomond and the Cairngorms have, amongst others, made it clear that without snaring being available to them as a means of predator control they fear they would be unable to meet their statutory objectives in maintaining biodiversity."

He added that after a very lengthy process of discussion and reflection he had concluded that snaring is still necessary in some circumstances.

"However it is also clear to me that we can and must do better in terms of eliminating bad practice for I believe it is bad practice - and sometimes criminally bad practice - which is responsible for some of the dreadful cases brought forward by animal rights organisations."

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