The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
‘Wildcat project just purrr-fect’
Aproject to protect the critically endangered Scottish wildcat has been praised by Humane Society International.
West Highland- based project Wildcat Haven has been praised for its innovative use of humane trapneuter-return (TNR) controls of feral cats.
Recent estimates place the population of wildcats as low as 35 in Scotland, making it 70 times rarer than the giant panda or the Bengal tiger.
Among the reasons they are so under threat is hybridisation, or cross-mating, with feral domestic cats. WildcatHaven has pioneered the use ofTNRin a conservation context, neutering feral populations across almost 500sq miles of remote wildcat habitat.
Alongside neutering the project runs educational programmes for schools, free pop-up vet clinics for local cat owners, and research into wildcat behaviour and genetics.
It has recently begun crowd-funding purchases of land to establish a network of wildcat habitat strongholds across the West Highlands.
Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International UK, said: “Wildcat Haven is a fantastic model of compassionate conservation to save a species, and it’s extremely encouraging to see that the Ardnamurchan and Morvern communities have been so engaged and supportive. We plan to explore opportunities to replicate this model and use it to improve feral cat management approaches in other parts of the world.”
Chief scientific adviser for the Wildcat Haven project, Paul O’Donoghue, said: “It’s an incredible honourfor our project tobe recognised by such a huge, global welfare organisation like HSI. Wildcat Haven has always been about striving for exceptional animal welfare standards and delivering compassionate conservation.
“This is a critical time for the wildcat but also an exciting one as the Haven project builds momentum.