Wolf Reintroduction yes or no

[Moonmoth]

I would Love to say Yes ! But Scotland is not Canada ,U S or China . I think there is just not enough space for them Not to come into contact with humans and livestock and that there will be trouble ! So No . Also what is their diet going to be ? If it is supposed to be deer who will manage them to make sure that there are enough to go round but not too many to increase the population so much that they then need to find New territories ? and surely Farmers will require compensating for losses . It sounds like a very difficult project to manage .

[Amarillo]

Originally Posted by Moonmoth

I would Love to say Yes ! But Scotland is not Canada ,U S or China . .

No it isn't.
So why not compare it to some other countries that have wolves - Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland?

[Moonmoth]

Just now Looked on wiki Re : European wolves Like I said before, it still looks problematical but just giving my Unknowledgeable opinion .

[conisag]

we do already technically have british wild wolves, just not in the wild lol
They are sadly fenced off

[partyboy]

as much as i would like to see the wolf roaming free it is not going to happen with land owners &farmersjumping up & down over the so called danger to their livestock,unfortunatly money has a big mouth.

[WildBritain]

I'd have to say for me IMHO it has to be a yes, we need to start thinking bigger in british conservation, re-establishing a UK wolf population would do so much for the improved management of our wildland habitats.

David

[animartco]

Originally Posted by WildBritain

I'd have to say for me IMHO it has to be a yes, we need to start thinking bigger in british conservation, re-establishing a UK wolf population would do so much for the improved management of our wildland habitats.

David

I would rather re-establish the lynx than the wolf. I think they would be a better control for the mink, and they are no danger to humanity. It takes an awful lot of space to support a wolf pack, and they could be dangerous to hill walkers, especially in the winter. Our wildcat population would probably be threatened by both species though. I hope the experts can accurately detemine to what extent.

[bigdave60dog]

Reintroduction of Scottish wolves is a good idea if you don`t live in the most rural parts of the Highlands. (I am sure that I saw a dead one on the of the A9 near to Badenoch). where the residents live lives free of large predators like wolves and lynxes and are happy with it that way.
Dave

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by animartco

I would rather re-establish the lynx than the wolf. I think they would be a better control for the mink, and they are no danger to humanity. It takes an awful lot of space to support a wolf pack, and they could be dangerous to hill walkers, especially in the winter. Our wildcat population would probably be threatened by both species though. I hope the experts can accurately detemine to what extent.

neither wolves nor lynx kill mink routinely (perhaps we could keep that discussion on just one thread ) The otter does and its coming back anyway - also mink arent prevalent in the scottish highlands which is the only likely habitat for a wolf reintro

Also wolves are not a threat to wildcats (that cats would just go up a tree if threatened - but in any case the cats prefer deep woodland while wolf packs are more likely to stay on the open hillside where the deer are.

lynx might be more of a threat to the wildcat, but they arent a significant one in areas where they do coexist - basically because they prey on different species and the wild cat isnt a threat to lynx kittens so they leave each other alone.

and thirdly wolves are only a threat to people when food is in incredibly short supply , which it isnt in the scottish highlands what with the number of deer.

One thing that does have to be born in mind is that both wolf and lynx would be a threat to capercaille and black grouse -I still favour a wolf reintroduction but the area would have to be carefully selected - ie one with plenty of deer but away from sheep grazing and caper leks

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

Reintroduction of Scottish wolves is a good idea if you don`t live in the most rural parts of the Highlands. (I am sure that I saw a dead one on the of the A9 near to Badenoch). where the residents live lives free of large predators like wolves and lynxes and are happy with it that way.
Dave

but in some areas there arent any residents - courtesy of the clearances there are large tracts of the highlands with no communities except for the estates. Also in areas where there are wolves and lynx, such as Norway, finland and canada (they have bears too - not that i'm advocating reintroducing them) the residents coexist with them, and indeed the wildlife brings in tourism which helps support small rural comunities.