http://www.tgomagazine.co.uk/news/highland-wolves-plan-put-on-hold-1.1029595

I'd love to here people's comments on this!

It's good that it's stopped his plan for now but I see that he now wants to fence a much larger area, if he can persuade neighbouring landowners to join his scheme or sell him land. If he gets that far opposition will be fierce.

I think the opposition is not just related to the fencing and the access issues either. If your a neighbour and he essentially fences the boundary and therefore your land, would they be allowed to take it down?

What's the opinion on reintroducing native species such as the wolves?

Presumably any deal done with neighbours would be to take over their land, either by buying it outright or with a management agreement.

I am in favour of reintroducing extinct native species including wolves into the wild when there there is suitable habitat. I'm not in favour of safari parks or any type of large fenced enclosure.

Lister is actually doing some good work at Alladale, particularly in re-generating the native woodland but what continues to worry me is that he's just creating a large wildlife park. That would be OK if he had come out initially and said that was his plan but he didn't. I'm not sure his immediate neighbours will want to sell him land, most of them think he is a nutter, but money talks and few of these highland estates make any kind of profit. I think the best way forward for hillwalkers is to go there and walk on the estate. Go and climb Carn Ban, the Corbett that's in the heart of Alladale Estste or clumb Seana Braigh from the east, through Alladale. Let him know that hillwalkers will walk there and do walk there and that the freedom of access is as important there as anywhere else. As for re-introducing wolves? I doubt if it will ever happen.

I'd hate to think that wolves, and the other marvelous wildlife we have lost, will never be re-introduced but I think I'm on safe ground saying that the re-introduction of wilves, bears, elk (moose), lynx or European Bison is a long-way off and unlikely to happen for many years to come. The conditions must be right for licences to be granted for such re-introductions - there must be the right habitat in sufficient areas to sustain a population of the beasties; the causes of the original extinction must no longer be in pla andblic consultation has to be carried out - all of which means that a great deal of time and effort goes into re-introductions - hopefully meaning that the re-introduced animals have a decent chance. The case of the beaver re-introduction is a case in point - the public consultation for the project was carried out in the 90s - and the beavers hae only just been released in the last year or two.

I think we have a moral obligation to try and re-introduce those species we wiped out but also an obligation to do so in a sustainable manner and in such a way as to allow these beasts to live alongside us - or rather vice versa.
The regeneration of plant life is a much less controversial matter and efforts such as those made at Alladale and elsewhere and praiseworthy surely.

When I first heard of the Alladale project I thought it was a fantastic idea - but, like Cameron, I've come to suspect that the reality would simply be a 'Highland Wildlife Park' - and we've got one already at Kingussie. Closing such an area to walkers would be, in my mind, justifiable if it led directly to the re-introduction of our lost bio-diversity but certainly not justifiable to create a safari park.

If you take Cameron's wise advice and use the Alladale estate to show the value of it to walkers too you could also consider the history of the area - it lay at the heart of the Highland Clearances with the churchyard at nearby Croick sheltering the disposessed and hopeless - their desperate thoughts scratched in to the church window glass for posterity. An interesting light on the human history of the area and an interesting light on the human interaction with the natural world that lies at the heart of the Alladale 'controversy'.

Personally, I can't see a re-introduction of a top line predator like the Wolf, simply because too many land owners will object. There is already controversy regarding the re-introduction of the magnificent White Tailed (Sea) Eagle, because they are capable of taking lambs. A pack of Wolves can take fully grown sheep, cattle and stags, there is also no guarantee that a newly establish pack with no territory wouldn't abandon hunting and start scavenging from humans.
Admittedly, a Wolf population on our Islands, controlling stag populations would sure be a fine sight and would probably be beneficial to the landscape.

Bears would naturally be attracted to salmon farms and fisheries, so that's a no.
Elk and Bison would just strip the land as much as stags do.
Lynx might be easier.

Ian R - you're right so far as the wolves and bears go - it would take a gradual and long-term effort to slowly change attitudes in this country to predators of any size - too many people still see predators as 'wicked and evil', 'nasty things eating cute fluffy things' etc. Attitudes could change but not in the short term. Lynx would be an equally difficult challenge -after all these are large predators - as big as a medium to large dog !

Elk and Bison (Wisent), however, would not strip the landscape - the only reason red deer have done so is that their numbers have been kept artificialy high and their natural (woodland) habitat reduced to the extent that it has almost been removed all together.
Red Deer are naturally forest animals and therefore do not strip forest when at their natural levels (both deer and forest).
European Bison and elk are both woodland creatures and have evolved to co-exist with that habitat. There could and should be no re-introduction except at sustainable levels - that is a condition of re-introductions anyway.

We have beaver back, albeit on trail, and wild boar too. Whilst the latter are causing some small problems in some limited areas they are certainly not a problem as a population (the same goes for the case with the White-tailed Eagle). We must remember that where native animals come into conflict with human land-use it is the result of that human land-use taking up wht would be natural habitat.

Now I wouldn't suggest that we return Britain to the wildwood but there are of course areas where this could be achieved at least to a sufficient degree for man and beast to co-exist - as of course happens with some of our existing wildlife (weasels, stoats, even otters once again). This would be great for wildlife and for tourism too.

Personally I'd love the thrill of Wisent (Bison) in the woods, wolves on the hills and bears doing what they do best - also in the woods! Just think of the air-miles Ray Mears and Bear Grylls would save!