Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Spruce trees dug up in “pointless theft”
FIVE “extremely rare” spruce trees have been stolen from a specially-developed conservation area in Perth.
The almost-extinct Serbian spruces were taken from Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park last week.
Native to forests of Bosnia-Herzegovina and western Serbia, the trees look similar to the Norwegian spruce — a popular type of Christmas tree.
Police are working with Forest Enterprise Scotland to identify the culprits. According to Forest Enterprise Scotland, the stolen trees have no commercial value but contain “priceless” genetic material essential to the longterm conservation of the species.
Most of the roots had been left in the ground after the theft, meaning the evergreen trees are now most likely dead.
Endangered conifer species facing extinction in their native range are kept in special conservation areas, like Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park.
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) operates the conservation area alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and Forest Enterprise Scotland. Tom Christian, PKCT project officer, said: “The climate and landscape of Perthshire is ideal for growing conifers and the area provides a very important safe haven for rare and endangered species from around the world.”
Forest Enterprise Scotland’s beat forester, Robin Lofthouse, said: “When biodiversity around the world is increasingly under pressure, projects such as this play an invaluable part in conserving genetic material.
“This pointless theft is extremely frustrating not just because of the loss but because the trees are likely to have been killed. The thief had tried to dig them up but left most of the roots in the ground.”