The ‘custodian’ of the Alladale estate wants
to turn it into a fenced-off wildlife reserve
Sun 8 Apr 2018 06.00 BST
The echoes of Scotland’s predator prince
faded into silence three centuries ago. The wolf was once lord of these
Sutherland slopes and the forest floors beneath and now a voice in the
wilderness is calling him home.
Paul Lister acquired
the Alladale estate, 50 miles north of Inverness, in 2003 and immediately set
about creating a wilderness
reserve according
to his perception of what these wild and beautiful places ought to look like.
He can’t imagine them without the packs of wolves that once roamed free here.
But his views are considered eccentric by
ramblers and conservationists, who view them as a rich man’s caprice, centring
their objections on his plans to fence off the vast reserve.
Lister’s plans for the controlled release of
a pack of Swedish wolves have been known for years but last week he seemed to
issue an ultimatum to the Highland and Islands council, using a local newspaper
interview to tell them: “I want to do this, but we would really need to have
the details nailed down by the end of 2018.” Yet, when you speak to this man,
driven as he is by a vision of how these places should be managed, you form an
unshakeable impression that he will strive to fulfil it for as long as it
takes.
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