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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Improving the protection of wild mammals -
Scottish Government Consultation on improving animal welfare announced. A consultation on protecting wild mammals in Scotland has been
announced by the Environment Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham. It follows
a review of the operation of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland)
Act 2002, which was undertaken by the Rt Hon Lord Bonomy in 2016. Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “This consultation
seeks to explore recommendations to improve animal welfare legislation
and the contributions we receive will be of considerable value in
informing our thinking. Scotland led the way in 2002 by banning the
hunting of wild mammals with dogs and we remain committed to improving
animal welfare across the board.”
Improving the Protection of Wild Mammals in Scotland -
Scottish Government Consultation Consultation Closes 31 Jan 2018 Overview: We recognised concerns about whether legislation on
fox-hunting in Scotland is working properly. That is why we asked the
Right Honourable Lord Bonomy to undertake a review to ascertain whether
the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 is providing a
sufficient level of protection for wild mammals, while at the same time
allowing effective and humane control of mammals, such as foxes, where
necessary. Lord Bonomy’s report is an important milestone and represents a
considered, objective and comprehensive examination of the issues. He
outlines a significant number of potential improvements for the conduct
of operations under the 2002 Act, and to the Act itself.
Clean run the rivers - Northumberland
National Park This summer a major search was launched for a beautiful water plant
to help check the health of rivers and streams in Northumberland
National Park. The extensive survey, which is helping to support Northumberland
National Park Authority’s vision for the natural environment, saw a team
of 17 National Park volunteers, supported by the Northumberland National
Park Mountain Rescue Team, inspecting bodies of water across the Park
for the plants. ‘Water crowfoots’ are aquatic plants related to buttercups that are
native to the UK and are recognisable by their small, seasonal white
flowers. Water crowfoots thrive best in unpolluted, moving water
courses, such as streams and rivers and their presence has long been
used as a natural indicator of clean water. There are several closely
related species which are sometimes hard to tell apart.
Water
Crowfoots in the National Park (image: Northumberland National Park) Abi Mansley, Programmes Officer at Northumberland National Park
Authority, said: “The water crowfoot survey is one of the activities we
have carried out as part of our drive to enhance nature within the
National Park. In addition to looking for water crowfoot, other things
we plan to monitor include the range of the Mountain Bumblebee and Black
Grouse, the number of high-quality hay meadow sites and waxcap grassland
sites (special grasslands that support an array of colourful fungi). The
River Coquet has long been renowned as a great place to see water
crowfoot, alongside rivers and streams in the Tweed catchment in the
north of the National Park, but the data we had was out of date and
needed checking for accuracy. The aim of this initial survey is to
collect new, more precise and up-to-date data and to set a benchmark
from which we can measure future changes.” The data collected during the water crowfoot survey are currently
being collated and will eventually be shared with the North East Records
Centre at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle.
£ 1 Million to Restore Wales' Important Peatlands
- Snowdonia National Park Thanks to a generous contribution of £ 1m from the Welsh Government's
Sustainable Management Scheme, some of Wales' most important peatlands
will be protected, maintained and improved.
(image:
Snowdonia National Park) Wales has over 70,000 hectares of peatland and most of these are
blanket bogs in the uplands. Following this new financial support, some
of Wales' peatlands will be able to be sustainably managed which will
bring many benefits to the country's ecosystems. Important carbon will
be stored, it will provide opportunities to alleviate flood risk, it
will provide clean drinking water and provide natural habitats for
valuable biodiversity. The Mawndiroedd Cymru (translated from Welsh means Wales’
Peatlands), scheme is a joint scheme between the Snowdonia National
Park Authority, the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, Natural
Resources Wales and the National Trust, but will also be working with
other organisations. It will run until the end of August
2020 and will employ a Project Manager based in Snowdonia and two
Project Officers - one based in Snowdonia and the other in the Brecon
Beacons. On behalf of the partnership, Rhys Owen, Head of Agriculture and
Conservation at Snowdonia National Park Authority said, “We are
extremely grateful to the Welsh Government for its generosity in
contributing towards a scheme which will help to ensure a prosperous
future for Welsh peatlands. Peat restoration is beneficial to all
elements of today's society as it reduces carbon emissions, improves
water quality and improves river management. In addition, it will assist
land managers in improving grazing opportunities, it will retain the
distinctiveness of our historic landscapes and preserve prehistoric
features.
Scientists complete conservation 'atlas of life'
– University of Oxford An international team of scientists have completed the ‘atlas of
life’ - the first global review and map of every vertebrate on Earth. Led by researchers at the University of Oxford and Tel Aviv
University, the 39 scientists have produced a catalogue and atlas of the
world’s reptiles. By linking this atlas with existing maps for birds,
mammals and amphibians, the team have found many new areas where
conservation action is vital. In order to best protect wildlife, it’s important to know where
species live, so the right action can be taken and scarce funding
allocated in the right places. With this in mind, an international group
of researchers have produced detailed maps highlighting the whereabouts
of all known land-living species of vertebrate on Earth. Maps showing the habitats of almost all birds, mammals and amphibians
have been completed since 2006, but it was widely thought that many
reptile species were too poorly known to be mapped.
Map of all land vertebrates (University of Oxford) In research featured in Nature Ecology & Evolution, scientists from
the University of Oxford School of Geography and Environment worked in
close collaboration with colleagues from of Tel Aviv University and 30
other institutions to produce the new reptile atlas, which covers more
than 10,000 species of snakes, lizards and turtles/tortoises. The data
completes the world map of 31,000 species of humanity’s closest
relatives, including around 5000 mammals, 10,000 birds and 6000 frogs
and salamanders. The map has revealed unexpected trends and regions of biodiversity
fragility. They include the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, inland
arid southern Africa, the Asian steppes, the central Australian deserts;
the Brazilian caatinga scrubland, and the high southern Andes.
Birds reveal importance of good neighbours for health and ageing
– University of East Anglia Birds who live next door to family members or to other birds they
know well are physically healthier and age more slowly, according to new
research from the University of East Anglia (UEA). The research, conducted in collaboration with colleagues at the
universities of Leeds (UK) and Groningen (the Netherlands), is published
today (Tuesday 10 Oct) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences (PNAS). Much like humans, many wild animals ‘own’ a private piece of land, or
territory, that they rigorously defend against intruders. Having good
neighbours that respect the territory boundaries means less work and
stress for territory owners – but are some neighbours better than
others? Good neighbours come in two varieties. Firstly, when neighbours
are extended family members, they share genes and therefore refrain from
fighting over space or intruding into each other’s territories. Second,
if neighbours know each other well, they should keep the peace and
cooperate with each other in order to prevent new neighbours, with whom
they must resettle all the rules regarding territory boundaries, from
moving into the neighbourhood.
Image
credit: Sjouke Anne Kingma Scientists studied a population of Seychelles warblers, a small
island bird endemic to the Seychelles islands, to test whether territory
owners with more related, or more familiar, neighbours had more peaceful
territories and better health as a result. Territory owners were
sometimes observed fighting with their neighbours, but never with family
members or neighbours that they were neighbours with in previous years. Lead author of the research, Kat Bebbington of UEA’s School of
Biological Sciences, said: “Defending territory boundaries is crucial if
animals are to hold onto valuable food and other resources. Territory
owners who are constantly fighting with neighbours are stressed and have
little time to do other important things – such as finding food and
producing offspring – and their health suffers as a result.
Interestingly, we show that it’s not just relatives that can be trusted,
but also neighbours you get to know well over time. Something similar
probably occurs in human neighbourhoods: if you’ve lived next to your
neighbour for years, you are much more likely to trust each other and
help each other out now and then.”
Deposit refund system could save councils £35 million a year
- CPRE New study finds that local authorities stand to benefit from
introduction of a DRS for plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans. A new report published today finds that local authorities across
England could save up to £35 million every year if a deposit refund
system (DRS) for drinks containers was introduced in England.
Analysis of data across eight local authorities, including those with
high and low recycling rates, found that rather than losing income, the
individual authorities could potentially make savings of between £60,000
and £500,000. Some local authorities have expressed concerns that the introduction
of a DRS would lead to a reduction in their income, as people use the
scheme to recycle their bottles and cans rather than the local
authorities’ kerbside recycling systems. In response to these concerns, a consortium comprising Keep Britain
Tidy, the Marine Conservation Society, Surfers Against Sewage, Campaign
to Protect Rural England and Reloop, together with Melissa and Stephen
Murdoch, commissioned Eunomia Research and Consulting to look into this
issue. The report finds that local authorities would lose some income as
there would be a reduced number of cans and plastic bottles in the
kerbside collections to sell to recyclers. However, the savings made
from having fewer containers to collect and sort, as well as reduced
levels of littering and reduced landfill charges will actually create
savings that outweigh the loss of revenue. It makes recommendations for
both government and local authorities on how kerbside services can be
adapted to ensure that the savings resulting from a DRS are shared
equally between county councils and district councils. Download the
Impacts of a Deposit Refund System on Local Authority Waste Services
report
WWT proposes new accountability law -
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust A new law will be proposed at Westminster today (Wed 11 Oct) which
would commit the Government to making the UK a little greener and
healthier each year, or have to face up to Parliament and the public if
they don’t. The WWT will be urging MPs at a Committee room meeting to make the
Government accountable for the country’s environmental performance
through a statutory annual statement and debate – in the same way they
do for its economic performance. The new law would make the Government accountable for building – and
not depleting – the value of services the environment provides for us
all each year. This includes the value of our landscape providing clean
air, natural materials, food and clean water and absorbing carbon,
pollution and the effects of floods or drought. The Office of National
Statistics estimated this at nearly £500bn in 2014 – which was roughly
two-thirds the money spent on public services that year, which the
Government is held accountable for. The UK’s “natural capital” also includes the human health benefits a
healthy British environment can bring. For example it’s estimated that
every £1 spent on nature-based healthcare (e.g. doctors prescribing for
sick people to spend time in green spaces) returns £3.12 of benefit in
reducing the need for drugs and other treatments. The proposed law is one of a number of recommendations in a WWT
policy paper called Nature’s Way – The Environment for Success. The
paper is timed to make politicians think about environmental factors as
they design the UK’s post-Brexit policy framework. Download the WWT policy paper
Nature’s Way – The Environment for Success (PDF)
Scientists develop tool which can predict coastal erosion and recovery
in extreme storms - University of Plymouth A traffic light system based on the severity of approaching storms
will highlight the level of action required to protect particular
beaches The damage caused to beaches by extreme storms on exposed energetic
coastlines and the rate at which they recover can now be accurately
predicted thanks to new research led by the University of Plymouth.
Working with the University of New South Wales, scientists have
developed a computer model which uses past wave observations and beach
assessments to forecast the erosion and/or accretion of beach sediments
over the coming year. They believe it could be a sea change for coastal
managers, giving them the opportunity to make decisions that could
protect communities from severe wave damage. In a study, published in Coastal Engineering, the academics say
deriving sufficient knowledge and understanding to forecast erosion and
accretion with a level of confidence is arguably the ‘holy grail’ for
coastal scientists and engineers. In seeking to address that, they have developed a traffic light
system based on the severity of approaching storms, which will highlight
the level of action required to protect particular beaches. Dr Mark Davidson, Reader in Coastal Processes at the University of
Plymouth, led the research. He said: “In the past, coastal managers have
always tended to be responsive. They have been unable to fully predict
how their areas might respond over periods of up to a year, and to
assess any pre-emptive measures they could take. This research goes some
way to changing that, enabling us to warn people in advance about how
beaches will respond and helping officials take the steps they need to
protect themselves and their communities.” The full study – Annual prediction of
shoreline erosion and subsequent recovery by Mark A. Davidson, Ian L.
Turner, Kristen D. Splinter and Mitchel D. Harley – will be published in
the December issue of Coastal Engineering, doi:
10.1016/j.coastaleng.2017.09.008.
Forest grazing counteracts the effectiveness of trees to reduce flood
risk - University of Lancaster Planting trees can reduce flood risk, but a high intensity forest
land use, such as grazing, can counteract the positive effect of the
trees, a recently published study suggests. As the frequency and severity of flooding becomes an increasing
problem, land managers are turning to natural flood management measures,
such as tree planting, to reduce the risk.
The
experimental agroforestry site in Scotland used for the research (image:
University of Lancaster) When rainfall exceeds the rate at which water can enter the soil it
flows rapidly over the land’s surface into streams and rivers. Trees can
help to reduce the risk of surface runoff by increasing the number of
large pores in the soil through which water can drain more easily. Land
use, such as grazing, also affects the soil’s ability to absorb water;
however, while the effect of land use on surface runoff has been well
studied in grasslands, little is known about the effect of land use in
forests. The study, undertaken by Lancaster University and the Centre for
Ecology and Hydrology and published in the journal Geoderma,
investigated the rate that water infiltrated the soil under trees at an
experimental agroforestry site in Scotland. Researchers found that
infiltration rates were between ten and a hundred times higher under
trees, when the forested area remained relatively undisturbed, compared
with adjacent pasture. Where sheep were allowed to graze under the trees
there was no observable difference from the pasture. Access the paper: K.R. Chandler, C.J.
Stevens, A. Binley, A.M. Keith,
Influence of tree species and forest land use on soil hydraulic
conductivity and implications for surface runoff generation, In
Geoderma, Volume 310, 2018, Pages 120-127, ISSN 0016-7061,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.08.011.
New 5.5 million euro CANAPE project launches in the Broads
– Broads Authority Partners from Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Great
Britain met in the Broads National Park this week to kick off a brand
new 5.5m euro project. The Broads Authority is the lead partner of
CANAPE (Creating A New Approach to Peatland Ecosystems). The matched funded project will give the Broads Authority over
700,000 euros from the European Regional Development Fund and will
enable the Broads Authority to continue to deliver the ‘Hickling Vision’
and restore more areas of eroded reed bed at Hickling Broad. The project
will see innovative geo-textile materials used to form a bunded wall
into which sediments dredged from Hickling will be pumped and then
planted with local reeds. The funding will also aim to use healthy
peatlands in the Broads National Park to help regulate global climate
change as the peatland naturally absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere when
correctly maintained. It is an opportunity for people working in the Broads to transfer new
and innovative concepts about managing lowland peatlands across the
North Sea region of Europe. Together partners will improve how to assess
lake and peatland restoration options, as well as examining the multiple
benefits of peatlands, including flood storage and carbon capture.
Partners will also explored the creation of future jobs by the
development of new wetland products and the economic benefits this
approach could produce. Senior Ecologist for the Broads Authority, Andrea Kelly said of the
partnership meeting, “This is an opportunity to share our experiences with the CANAPE
partners and benefit from working across borders with people who are
experienced in similar issues. We aim to test new approaches to gain
wider benefits of peatlands, including carbon and water management, as
well as new potential economic benefits.” Partners described the site visits as ‘highly important’ and ‘an
opportunity for cooperation’ with Peter Hahn from the Ministry of
Environment and Food in Denmark, saying, “This is a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge and most
importantly to have a really positive impact upon climate change.” The CANAPE project is an opportunity for the Broads Authority to
share their knowledge of lowland peatland management with their European
partners. The event marks the beginning of a long term conservation
partnership, to work for the benefit of the Broads National Park and the
wider global climate.
Peak District project wins Park Protector 2017
– Campaign for National Parks The Community Science project is run by the Moors for the Future
Partnership and took home the top prize in the 2017 Park Protector
Award. The Award, which is run by Campaign for National Parks, and the
accompanying £2,000 grant was presented at a parliamentary reception on
11 October 2017. Sarah Proctor of the project said: “Moors for the Future
Partnership’s Community Science team are delighted to have won the 2017
Park Protector Award and would like to thank Campaign for National Parks
on behalf of our volunteers, partners and Heritage Lottery Fund, by whom
the project is supported. Enabling local communities and visitors to identify, record and
monitor the wildlife of the internationally important blanket bog
habitats in the Peak District National Park and South Pennines, is a
great way to build and share our understanding of this landscape. This
insight will help us better protect important habitats and species now
and in the future. Winning this award will help us reach new volunteers
and funders and allow us to buy more equipment to support our wildlife
surveys, including monitoring otters, mink and water voles in and around
the Park.”
Ivy lifeline for autumn moths – Butterfly
Conservation Despite Christmas being weeks away, wildlife lovers will be gathered
around the ivy over the coming nights as they search for rare and
spectacular moths looking for an autumn lifeline.
An
immigration of rare moths from Europe is currently taking place across
the UK with the scarce Silver-striped Hawk-moth and Radford's Flame
Shoulder all seen in recent days. These rarities have also been joined by spectacular immigrant species
such as the giant Convolvulus Hawk-moth and Humming-bird Hawk-moth. Clifden Nonpareil (image: Butterfly Conservation) The Clifden Nonpareil, one of the UK’s most striking autumn moths has
recently become established from Dorset to Kent but numbers have this
year been boosted by dozens of immigrants from the continent. As part of this year’s Moth Night, an annual UK-wide event to record
moths, organisers Atropos, Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology are asking the public to investigate their local
patches of flowering ivy to help gather more information on the plant’s
importance to moths. Ivy provides a lifeline to moths, butterflies and other pollinators
as it flowers late in the year when other nectar sources are
unavailable. Over the next three nights wildlife lovers are being asked to take a
torchlight safari of ivy flowers and count some of the moths that are on
the wing in autumn.
Google Street View launches for New Forest tracks
– New Forest National Park Miles of the New Forest’s approved off-road paths can now be seen
from a new perspective using Google Street View. The partnership between Google and the New Forest National Park
Authority saw staff members and Forestry Commission volunteers
photograph the Forest’s top tracks using the Google Trekker. The Trekker backpack is four feet high, weighs 22 kilograms and is
fitted with a 15-angle lens camera that takes 360-degree pictures every
2.5 seconds. The technology enables walking routes to be captured and
digitised in the same In total, 102 miles of approved main tracks were
photographed during summer 2016 and the images can now be accessed
online through Google Maps. Iconic areas that have been ‘Trekked’ include:
As well as being available on Google Maps, the interactive tours will
be embedded onto the National Park Authority’s walking and cycling
website. This will allow people to explore their route before setting
off, check it is suitable for them and keep to the main tracks to avoid
disturbing wildlife. Jim Mitchell, Interpretation and Outreach Manager at the New Forest
National Park Authority, said: ‘The trekker footage will help people
plan their time outdoors in the National Park. The routes are carefully
selected so that they both visit some of the best of what the New Forest
has to offer and guide people to use approved rights of way, footpaths
and more robust tracks.’ way Google Street View enables users to see
360-degree images of streets and roads.
Government reaffirms commitment to lead the world in cost-effective
clean growth - Department for Business,
Energy & Industrial Strategy The Clean Growth Strategy sets out an ambitious blueprint for
Britain’s low carbon future. An ambitious strategy setting out how the UK is leading the world in
cutting carbon emissions to combat climate change while driving economic
growth, has been published today (12 October 2017) by Business and
Energy Secretary Greg Clark.
‘The Clean Growth Strategy: Leading the way to a low carbon future’
builds on the UK’s strong progress to date. Carbon emissions in the UK
have fallen and national income risen faster and further than any other
nation in the G7 – since 1990, emissions are down by 42% while the
economy has grown by 67%.
The
government’s strategy sets out how the whole country can benefit from
low carbon economic opportunities through the creation of new
technologies and new businesses, which creates jobs and prosperity
across the UK, while meeting our ambitious national targets to tackle
climate change. (image: DBEIS) Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: Climate Change and Industry Minister Claire Perry said:
SNH project to tackle species including Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed
and American mink boosted by National Lottery Funding
- Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Natural Heritage’s Scottish Invasive Species Initiative
awarded National Lottery support A partnership project to encourage communities to tackle invasive
non-native species such as Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed and American
mink in their local area has received a major financial boost from the
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Scottish Natural Heritage has received a grant of £1.59 million from
the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative
project, it was announced today. Thanks to money raised by National
Lottery players, the partnership project aims to establish
community-based approaches to deal with non-native species in northern
Scotland, working with 10 Fisheries Trusts/District Salmon Fisheries
Boards and Aberdeen University. Invasive non-native species cost the
Scottish economy at least £250 million each year.
Hogweed
(image: SNH) To combat the impacts of invasive non-native species, the project
team will work with communities to establish local management of
specific priority species such as giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed and
American mink. The target species will be managed in selected
locations within a 29,500 km2 area of northern Scotland. The
project will focus on species associated with lochs and rivers, and aims
to establish a volunteer network which will help to look after local
freshwater biodiversity after the project has been completed.
Collaboration with charity Apex Scotland will provide a range of
volunteering opportunities for offenders, ex-offenders and those
recovering from addiction. The project has also made links with the
John Muir Trust to enable volunteers to work towards their John Muir
Award through taking part in project activities. Mike Cantlay, Chair of Scottish Natural Heritage, said: “The aim of
this exciting and ambitious project is to raise awareness and
understanding of invasive non-native species, biosecurity measures and
the importance and sensitivity of our freshwater environment. Scotland’s
fresh waters constitute more than 90% of the total volume of fresh
waters in the United Kingdom and support a range of economic activities
as well as ecosystem services such as drinking water, electricity
generation and flood protection. “This project will support us in working with local communities and
organisations to help care for this precious resource. We’d like to
thank National Lottery players for the funding which will help us to
continue our work to create better places for people and nature across
the whole of Scotland.”
Trust joins call for temporary ban on mountain hare culls
- Scottish Wildlife Trust A coalition of ten environmental and outdoor organisations including
the Scottish Wildlife Trust have repeated their appeal to the Scottish
Government to introduce urgent safeguards for mountain hare populations. The group is asking for a temporary ban on all mountain hare culling
on grouse moors until measures are put in place to ensure their numbers
can remain at acceptable, sustainable levels. The Scottish Government has a duty to maintain mountain hare
populations in a state of good health, otherwise it may be in breach of
its legally binding international obligations for this species. However,
mountain hares are now routinely culled on a large scale across many
grouse moors in Scotland.
Mountain
hare (© Steve Gardner via SWT) In 2014, the coalition warned the Scottish Government that the
‘voluntary restraint’ that was claimed to be in place was unlikely to
protect these mammals from wide-scale culls on grouse moors, including
in the Cairngorms National Park. Since then, there have been
multiple reports of culls being carried out across the country –
suggesting that voluntary restraint has been ignored. These culls are
believed to be having a serious negative effect on hare populations. In
some areas it has been shown that the culls are leading to severe
population declines and potentially even local extinctions. Our Director of Conservation Susan Davies, Director of Conservation
said: “Mountain hares are an iconic species that act as an indicator of
the ecological health of our uplands, and seeing them gives much
pleasure to hillwalkers and tourists alike. There has been continued and
widespread culling throughout the period of voluntary restraint that was
called for in 2015 to allow research to be carried out. This suggests
that some grouse moor managers have no concern for the long-term
viability of mountain hare populations. We believe that grouse moor
managers have a responsibility for this important native species. Lethal
control should be halted until there is both accurate information on the
number of hares culled, and the true effect of these culls on the health
of the hare population is known.”
There is similar coverage from all ten
coalition member organisations. The organisations calling for
action are the Scottish Wildlife Trust, RSPB Scotland, Scottish Wildlife
Trust, Scottish Raptor Study Group, Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation
Group, Cairngorms Campaign, National Trust Scotland, Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland, Mammal Society, John Muir Trust and Mountaineering
Scotland. Response The Scottish Moorland Group has issued the following statement in
response to criticism of the management of mountain hare populations. Tim Baynes, director of the Scottish Moorland Group, said: “Mountain
hares populations are often very high on managed moorland in comparison
to other upland environments. On occasion, it is necessary to cull some
mountain hares to limit the spread of ticks, for the protection of trees
and to maintain fragile habitats. Such management is comparable to
organisations such as RSPB, SWT and John Muir Trust culling deer on land
owned by their charities. “There is no evidence provided by the ten organisations to
substantiate claims that periodic culls are endangering mountain hare
populations. In 2014, we issued a joint statement with SNH which
acknowledged the need for occasional culls but recognised the
requirement to do so responsibly. Culls range from 14% to 5% of hare
populations in years when culls are carried out, which is sustainable.
Mountain Hare Response - Scottish Gamekeepers
Association A Spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: "The
activist organisations constantly calling for this in press releases
would be better to explain to the public why they themselves have such
comparatively poor populations of mountain hares on their holdings and
why their management is producing so few. This is the elephant in the
room which has never been properly addressed, amidst the campaigns. When
the new guidance on best methodologies to count mountain hares is
published, the SGA will be asking Scottish Government to ensure hares
are counted on all holdings, including nature reserves and re-wilding
areas not just grouse moors, so the public can finally get a transparent
picture of where hares are declining and why."
Scientific Publications Risely, A., Klaassen, M. and Hoye, B. (2017),
Migratory animals feel the cost of getting sick: a meta-analysis across
species. J Anim Ecol. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12766
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