Alliance anger over dangers and cruelty of illegal releases like those in Badenoch
The Scottish Countryside Alliance has joined the chorus of condemnation following Monday’s illegal release of wild boar.
An entire herd had been found wandering in the same area between Kingussie and Kincraig which had seemingly been chosen for the release of four lynx in January.
A statement from the Alliance drew attention to many of the problems arising from such releases and the possible serious adverse effect on other species, the environment and land use.
“Illegally released animals can spread disease to other native species, the habitat can be unsuitable for the animals to live in with inadequate food resources, and damage can be caused to fencing and agricultural land, which incurs additional costs to already beleaguered farmers and landowners,” said Jill Stewart, campaigns officer with the Alliance.
The illegal release of non-native animals in Scotland carries a maximum penalty of a £40,000 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment on summary conviction and an unlimited fine (i.e. whatever the court feels to be commensurate with the offence) and/or five years imprisonment on indictment, Ms Stewart pointed out.
“As we’ve said before, engagement across all stakeholder organisations is essential for the success of rewilding projects across the UK, and not the whim of a minority of rogue activists.
“Illegal and misguided actions such as these recent releases undermine years of hard work and research into the rewilding of native species, such as the Scottish wild cat and lynx, by rewilding and wildlife organisations.
“They should be strongly condemned.
“These criminal actions waste the time and precious resources of organisations like Forestry and Land Scotland and Police Scotland, who have to recapture and, in the case of the feral pigs, cull.
“Even worse, however, is the fact that no consideration has been given to the welfare of these animals. It is likely that the feral pigs had been bred in captivity and did not have the capacity to live and hunt in the wild.
“The current penalty for crimes like these is clearly not enough to deter these rogue rewilders. If things are to change, awareness of these issues needs to be increased.”
It was especially important that animal welfare organisations protecting the wild and campaign for animal rights spoke out, she insisted.
“We cannot throw welfare to one side when it comes to cases of animals being illegally released.”
If you see or suspect there has been an illegal release, contact the Police Scotland Wildlife Team on 101.
For further information on Identifying and reporting invasive non-native species can be found on the NatureScot website.
