Wolves will ravage livestock in Scotland

Sir, - I see Jim Crumley has returned to the subject of wolves and why rural Scotland would be a better place if they were once again roaming the landscape. I do not share his enthusiasm.

These schemes to reintroduce animals which have not formed part of Scotland’s fauna for generations may be well intentioned. The drawback is that they never take account of the realities of Scotland as it is now, and hark back to the Scotland that existed when these animals were part of the rural ecology. That Scotland has long since disappeared.

We have already seen what can happen when wild animals get loose from the areas that they were intended to be contained in.

We need look no further that the Tayside beavers. The Strathmore landscape is the result of generations of careful husbandry, planning, and the investment of much time and effort.

These animals are destroying all of that almost overnight. If anyone has any doubts about what the future may hold for the beaver-affected areas, a glance at Argentina, where a massive cull of man-introduced beavers is under way, will provide the answer.

Anyone who thinks that wolves and lynx could be reintroduced into Scotland’s landscape and then confined to certain areas is deluding themselves. It is equally over-simplistic to think that the predators will play the game and concentrate on keeping deer numbers down.

They will take whatever is easiest and that is not the deer.

They are more likely to go for the hill farmer’s sheep, which can’t run away and can’t fight them off. George Thomson. 44 Viewforth Place, Pittenweem.

The carefully tended landscape of Strathmore between Perth and Forfar.