Rewilding Scotland

[vikingTON]

On 17/02/2021 at 20:16, jamamafegan said:

Great wee presentation that.

As they requested, might as well post the animation here!
 

Yes, the people of Scotland truly were in harmony with nature until we sadly lost our way, what with famine being a part and parcel of life on this drizzle-bound rock until the late 17th century (and occurring again on a regional basis in the 1840s).

There's always some weirdo, neo-Malthusian agenda just beneath the surface of the modern environmental movement, so rewilding being party to it is not a huge surprise either. 

[thisal]

On 16/02/2021 at 14:31, Juanhourjoe said:

I think it was that Danish guy, who owns all the land. Was calling for loads of Highland cattle, and boar to be let loose. To encourage new growth. These farmers could give up the sheep. And hunt all the tasty wild game we'll have instead. Who even eats sheep regularly anyway?

This website is named after a sheep filled delicacy.

[jamamafegan]

Chairman of the SGA makes bitter speech at its online AGM:

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/embittered-speech-by-alex-hogg-chair-of-the-scottish-gamekeepers-association/?fbclid=IwAR0LqarpCmhw4fAWINrjIv8UIn-HffzQY_laVRBpPpUdy90-a-lizllrwF8

All this does is show how out of touch these guys are. He even complains about the changes to the drink driving limit ffs. He also thanks gamekeepers “on the behalf of protected wildlife” for helping to save them including the “endangered curlew and other keystone species.” Hogg clearly doesn’t know what a keystone species is - it’s just an embarrassment. The writings on the wall for this lot.

[Hedgecutter]

I know that it's in the Dales and not Scotland, but it's incredibly disheartening to see that even footage of buzzard shootings on specific grouse moors still can't lead to any form of conviction.

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2021/03/09/gamekeeper-filmed-shooting-2-buzzards-on-grouse-moor-in-yorkshire-dales-national-park/

Edited March 12, 2021 by Hedgecutter

[Benjamin_Nevis]

On 08/03/2021 at 17:27, jamamafegan said:

Chairman of the SGA makes bitter speech at its online AGM:

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/embittered-speech-by-alex-hogg-chair-of-the-scottish-gamekeepers-association/?fbclid=IwAR0LqarpCmhw4fAWINrjIv8UIn-HffzQY_laVRBpPpUdy90-a-lizllrwF8

All this does is show how out of touch these guys are. He even complains about the changes to the drink driving limit ffs. He also thanks gamekeepers “on the behalf of protected wildlife” for helping to save them including the “endangered curlew and other keystone species.” Hogg clearly doesn’t know what a keystone species is - it’s just an embarrassment. The writings on the wall for this lot.

The SGA and country sports lobby in general are a rabble of archaic fucking nutters. The absolute state of them over Grouse Moor licensing was bad enough, but for some weird reason they are absolutely obsessed with Chris Packham and the RSPB to the extent they actively encourage threats, harassment and attempts to hound folk out of their jobs. 

Angus & The Glen Moorlands group's Facebook page was just a massive screed of outright bitterness and hatred towards the Scottish Government, the Greens and the perceived threat to their "way of life". Any attempt at debate or legit criticism was basically dismissed as "YOU'RE A TOWNIE". It'll be delightful when these buffoons are consigned to the dustbin of history. 

[DiegoDiego]

if, for the sake of argument, humans were attracted to eagle owls

I've pulled plenty worse.

[jamamafegan]

Anyone here know that Scotland has its very own rainforests? It’s on my to do list to visit and photograph them out on the west coast.

[DiegoDiego]

Anyone here know that Scotland has its very own rainforests? It’s on my to do list to visit and photograph them out on the west coast.

I'm not sure trying to connect colonialism to rainforest preservation/expansion does anyone any favours.

The three biggest landowners in Scotland are the Duke of Buccleuch, whose family owned the bulk of their lands before a Brit had set foot in the Americas, a Dane and an Arab who benefited massively from the end of colonialism.

It was a good video in general but I think they could do with toning down the imperialist class warfare talk.

[Malcolm Malcolm]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/05/bill-gates-climate-crisis-farmland

This is worth a read for those interested in land reform/the environment. 

[bennett]

 

 

 

CONSERVATIONISTS have called for government action after raising concerns that hundreds of thousands of fish have died from an infectious disease in salmon farms in Hebrides and Wester Ross.

The Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland has called on Scottish ministers to intervene to protect wild fish after an outbreak of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD).

It is understood that four farm sites have been affected including West Loch Tarbert and East Loch Tarbert on Harris, Loch Greshornish on Skye and the Isle of Ewe in Wester Ross. Marine Harvest salmon farms have been particularly affected, it is said

Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland said that up to 25 per cent of the stock at the afflicted sites are understood to have been lost, with dead fish transported to Wigan in Greater Manchester for incineration

 

 

Earlier this month Paul Hopper, senior biologist at the Outer Hebrides Fisheries Trust (OHFT) urged fish farmers to keep communication lines open with farmed salmon reported to be locked in the grip of a severe bout of amoebic gill disease and sea lice.

He said that despite it being common knowledge the disease was claiming "substantial numbers" of farmed salmon it had taken some time before fish farmers contacted the OHFT.

S&TCS claimed Marine Harvest was "struggling to manage the situation and has been slow to admit the extent of the problems".

It said: "AGD is a very unpleasant disease which causes asphyxia; many fish then suffocate to death. S&TCS is adamant that the Scottish Government should act now to protect wild fish.

Mr Hopper warned that incidents of the disease have been recorded in Scotland at water temperatures as low as 7.5°C and so they cannot rely on a drop in sea water temperature to help alleviate the situation imminently

S&TCS claimed Marine Harvest was "struggling to manage the situation and has been slow to admit the extent of the problems".

It said: "AGD is a very unpleasant disease which causes asphyxia; many fish then suffocate to death. S&TCS is adamant that the Scottish Government should act now to protect wild fish.

Mr Hopper warned that incidents of the disease have been recorded in Scotland at water temperatures as low as 7.5°C and so they cannot rely on a drop in sea water temperature to help alleviate the situation imminently

Innes Morrison, clerk to the Western Isles Fishery Board and factor at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle Estate said: " “We are very concerned that, if the disease is not eradicated by the spring, the migrating juvenile salmon from our SAC rivers will be vulnerable to deadly infection

In the meantime our sea trout, which remain in coastal waters, will surely be prone to infection. The salmon farming industry in the Western Isles seems to lurch from crisis to crisis – with both disease and sea lice epidemics – and yet virtually all applications for new farms or expansions are still being rubber-stamped by the local council with little if any concern for the environmental impact

 

Bill Whyte, chairman of the Wester Ross Area Salmon Fishery Board, added: “The cloak of secrecy surrounding the presence of AGD at Marine Harvest’s farm in Loch Ewe is inexcusable. This outbreak of AGD must surely prompt further questions as to the suitability and viability of Loch Ewe for salmon farming. Prior to the arrival of the industry in Loch Ewe, the Loch Maree system was an iconic fishery for both wild salmon and sea trout.”

Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TCS, said: “If any terrestrial farming industry was beset by a similarly rampant and highly contagious disease, the authorities would step in immediately and ruthlessly cull all affected stocks.

"But because the fish affected by and dying from AGD are unseen beneath the waves, the Scottish Government adopts a laissez-faire approach. Leaving aside the suffering caused to the fish in the cages, given the potential risks identified by local wild fish experts and the apparent inability of Marine Harvest to eradicate the disease, surely the Government now has a responsibility to intervene and order the immediate slaughter of the farmed stocks in question

 

[Snobot]

3 hours ago, bennett said:

 

 

 

CONSERVATIONISTS have called for government action after raising concerns that hundreds of thousands of fish have died from an infectious disease in salmon farms in Hebrides and Wester Ross.

The Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland has called on Scottish ministers to intervene to protect wild fish after an outbreak of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD).

It is understood that four farm sites have been affected including West Loch Tarbert and East Loch Tarbert on Harris, Loch Greshornish on Skye and the Isle of Ewe in Wester Ross. Marine Harvest salmon farms have been particularly affected, it is said

Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland said that up to 25 per cent of the stock at the afflicted sites are understood to have been lost, with dead fish transported to Wigan in Greater Manchester for incineration

 

 

Earlier this month Paul Hopper, senior biologist at the Outer Hebrides Fisheries Trust (OHFT) urged fish farmers to keep communication lines open with farmed salmon reported to be locked in the grip of a severe bout of amoebic gill disease and sea lice.

He said that despite it being common knowledge the disease was claiming "substantial numbers" of farmed salmon it had taken some time before fish farmers contacted the OHFT.

S&TCS claimed Marine Harvest was "struggling to manage the situation and has been slow to admit the extent of the problems".

It said: "AGD is a very unpleasant disease which causes asphyxia; many fish then suffocate to death. S&TCS is adamant that the Scottish Government should act now to protect wild fish.

Mr Hopper warned that incidents of the disease have been recorded in Scotland at water temperatures as low as 7.5°C and so they cannot rely on a drop in sea water temperature to help alleviate the situation imminently

S&TCS claimed Marine Harvest was "struggling to manage the situation and has been slow to admit the extent of the problems".

It said: "AGD is a very unpleasant disease which causes asphyxia; many fish then suffocate to death. S&TCS is adamant that the Scottish Government should act now to protect wild fish.

Mr Hopper warned that incidents of the disease have been recorded in Scotland at water temperatures as low as 7.5°C and so they cannot rely on a drop in sea water temperature to help alleviate the situation imminently

Innes Morrison, clerk to the Western Isles Fishery Board and factor at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle Estate said: " “We are very concerned that, if the disease is not eradicated by the spring, the migrating juvenile salmon from our SAC rivers will be vulnerable to deadly infection

In the meantime our sea trout, which remain in coastal waters, will surely be prone to infection. The salmon farming industry in the Western Isles seems to lurch from crisis to crisis – with both disease and sea lice epidemics – and yet virtually all applications for new farms or expansions are still being rubber-stamped by the local council with little if any concern for the environmental impact

 

Bill Whyte, chairman of the Wester Ross Area Salmon Fishery Board, added: “The cloak of secrecy surrounding the presence of AGD at Marine Harvest’s farm in Loch Ewe is inexcusable. This outbreak of AGD must surely prompt further questions as to the suitability and viability of Loch Ewe for salmon farming. Prior to the arrival of the industry in Loch Ewe, the Loch Maree system was an iconic fishery for both wild salmon and sea trout.”

Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TCS, said: “If any terrestrial farming industry was beset by a similarly rampant and highly contagious disease, the authorities would step in immediately and ruthlessly cull all affected stocks.

"But because the fish affected by and dying from AGD are unseen beneath the waves, the Scottish Government adopts a laissez-faire approach. Leaving aside the suffering caused to the fish in the cages, given the potential risks identified by local wild fish experts and the apparent inability of Marine Harvest to eradicate the disease, surely the Government now has a responsibility to intervene and order the immediate slaughter of the farmed stocks in question

 

When was that? MOWI were shutting down their Loch Ewe farm at the end of last year as far as I was aware

[bennett]

16 minutes ago, Snobot said:

When was that? MOWI were shutting down their Loch Ewe farm at the end of last year as far as I was aware

It's an old one, I thought it was new, I saw it linked on a Facebook page and never checked. 

 

[Archie McSquackle]

Anyone here know that Scotland has its very own rainforests? It’s on my to do list to visit and photograph them out on the west coast.

I'm a regular visitor to Mid-Argyll but only found out about the Taynish National Nature Reserve run by Scottish Natural Heritage last year. It's a fairly small peninsula with rainforest and an oak wood. The scenery is absolutely stunning and quite other-worldly.

[Hillonearth]

Had the weirdest pro-union paid post popping up on FB earlier on behalf of the Scottish Gamekeepers' Association...bizarrely they appear to think their opinion holds some sway in the forthcoming election,  in the mistaken belief that they contribute something more to the economy other than creating monocultural biological wastelands so they can get good boy pats off their betters.

Was going to ignore it, but ended up posting something along the lines of "Should you c***s not be out poisoning raptors somewhere?"

[LongTimeLurker]

On 02/02/2021 at 15:01, G51 said:

Look, I fully support the reintroduction of wolves into Perthshire if that's what you need to do to restore your ecological imbalance.

In the Highlands though, we'll prefer to stick with prioritising the reintroduction of people to historic levels, rather than wolves. One is infinitely more important to the preservation and restoration of the traditional ecosystem than the other.

Largely agree but a lot of the depopulation happened through the emergence of sheep farming and grouse moors so radical changes in land use are probably still the key. Too many people think the Highlands are a wilderness when it really isn't. Lynx is more or less doable with the amount of forestry that's available and wild boar and beaver have already happened but wolf and bear are a long way off from happening without very big changes in how the landscape is managed that are unlikely to happen in any of our lifetimes.

[jamamafegan]

North Wales: some sickening news this morning that some utter c**t has felled an osprey nest. Evil.

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2021/05/01/osprey-nest-platform-cut-down-with-chainsaw-as-first-egg-is-laid/?fbclid=IwAR2ceg8rpJ-dH9_gXKbDsbAFEl_1jnbNgfzI5d_xNvsTzK-jQQROAurGMCU

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Had the weirdest pro-union paid post popping up on FB earlier on behalf of the Scottish Gamekeepers' Association...bizarrely they appear to think their opinion holds some sway in the forthcoming election,  in the mistaken belief that they contribute something more to the economy other than creating monocultural biological wastelands so they can get good boy pats off their betters.
Was going to ignore it, but ended up posting something along the lines of "Should you c***s not be out poisoning raptors somewhere?"

Tremendous. They are a bunch of perma-seething cretins utterly obsessed with the RSPB and Chris Packham [emoji23]

[jamamafegan]

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/cheetah-reintroduction-india-rewilding-carbon-b1852858.html

India, a country with a population of over 1 billion people, is to reintroduce another large land predator - the cheetah. Cheetahs will soon hunt alongside other apex predators such as Bengal tigers and sloth bears - all genuinely dangerous animals that could easily kill a man.

Meanwhile in Scotland, we continue to debate and try to convince selfish farmers and other landowners in bringing back the lynx. It’s absolutely pathetic.

Biodiversity in the UK is in free fall yet we continue to f**k about to keep a select few happy at the expense of wildlife and the millions of nature lovers across the country. It took a 5 year trial to finally allow beavers to stay, it took even longer to grant them protected species status and even today a court of session began with Trees For Life contesting the government policy of allowing the shooting of these supposedly protected mammals instead of relocation to other rivers.

I used to think that persuasion was key to paving the way to a wilder Scotland, that we need to engage with backwards landowners and convince them that this is the way forward. But I’ve had enough now and as far as I’m concerned they can all get to f**k. The anti-Lynx sheep farmers. The anti beaver Ghillie’s. The gamekeepers. I’ve had enough of their quite frankly shite reasons for not rewilding. We are moving at a snails pace here and by the time we have persuaded these selfish, ignorant people it will be too late for many of our wild animals. They are holding us back and I have lost all sympathy for these people and the impact rewilding may have on their lives. It is because of their ways that we are losing so much of our wildlife. Everybody deserves to see a wilder Scotland and it breaks my heart to think that I will never get to see it because I’ll be long gone. If I want to see what Scotland could have looked like I’ll need to go and visit the forests of Norway or the marshes and farmland of Eastern Europe. The landowners of the past and present have effectively starved, and continue to starve, this country of its biodiversity. Nature has been stolen from us and we all have a right to be angry. These peoples livelihoods don’t have to end because of rewilding - their practises will change but it will be to the benefit of everyone and not just them.

[Venti]

Bring back Argentinosaurus to decimate Dundee.

Bring back Deinonychus ravage Paisley.

Bring back Quetzalcoatlus to put Ayrshire into the sea.

[Shandon Par]

Not sure if there’s a thread on “posters’ wives wild flower arrangements” so here goes. Stolen/sustainably cut from the local marshes: