Back into the wild: Is it time for wolf packs to roam the Highlands again?

Conservationists are calling to 'rewild' parts of Britain by restoring species

JAMIE MERRILL

Thursday 17 September 2015

To the untrained eye the rugged mountains and ancient woodlands of the Coigach and Assynt wilderness in the far northwest of Scotland look like the perfect place to reintroduce extinct predators like the lynx and wolf.

The possible reintroduction of the once native predators to Scotland has again caused controversy after warnings this week that lynx would endanger the future of sheep farming.

This comes at a tense point for many in the conservation movement amid calls for the "rewilding" of parts of Britain, with conservationists calling for the species, hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago, to be returned to the Highlands.

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'No ecological reason' against reintroducing wolves

17 May 2014 Last updated at 01:06

A landscape conservation charity has said there was "no ecological reason" why wolves could not be reintroduced to Scotland.

In the latest edition of its journal, the John Muir Trust (JMT) said the animal had been demonised in the UK.

It has raised the issue of bringing back the wolf as part of a wider discussion on "rewilding" the UK.

JMT said that over the next few months it hoped to stimulate debate on returning areas to more natural states.

In the John Muir Trust Journal, chief executive Stuart Brooks said the charity wanted to help develop a practical vision on rewilding.

Rewilding includes controlling grazing by domestic and wild animals so native trees and plants can flourish.

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