Response to Wildcat Haven

12/04/2016 in RZSS

Please note: the following statement was made in April 2016 and the Scottish Wildcat Action project came to an end in 2020.

Our charity now leads Saving Wildcats, a European partnership project which builds on the work of Scottish Wildcat Action and follows a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return policy to help manage threats to Scotland's wildcats.

Find out more about Saving Wildcats at savingwildcats.org.uk where there is a wide-range of FAQs and lots of useful information about why Scotland's approach to wildcat conservation has had to change focus in order to save this iconic species from extinction in Britain.

Leading conservation charity, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has today expressed its profound disappointment at a press statement from Wildcat Haven on Wednesday 13 April, which deliberately seeks to mislead the public about the nature of the Society’s work and hamper collective efforts to save the Scottish wildcat.

Chris West, CEO of RZSS, said: “RZSS and the wider Scottish Wildcat Action partnership of more than 20 conservation bodies have tried repeatedly to work alongside Wildcat Haven over the past few years; however, it has become increasingly clear that their first priority is PR rather than protecting the Scottish wildcat. It is hugely disappointing to see an organisation which purports to have the best interests of wildcats using these underhand and distorting ploys to further their own agenda.

“Robust science and transparency is at the core of the action plan and conservation protocols, and no aspect of our approach has been kept secret. Information is freely accessible to everyone on partner websites and has been for many months. We again urge Wildcat Haven to share their proposals and findings in full, which has not been done to date, so that the public can draw their own conclusions.

“It is a fact that feral cats have been legally controlled across the UK for many decades by landowners and gamekeepers, including via shooting. RZSS is instead encouraging land managers to cage trap feral cats instead of night shooting or snaring, which present a much greater risk to wildcats. However, within this context, it would be irresponsible for us not to develop best practice guidelines using advice from veterinary professionals, animal managers and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) to help prevent any unnecessary animal suffering.

“Any feral cats trapped by or handed into RZSS that do not meet the criteria for wildcats – and which landowners refuse to take back – will be humanely euthanised by our veterinary team and not shot by a gamekeeper as Wildcat Haven’s statement misleadingly claims.”

“RZSS would also like to stress that the collective approach of Scottish Wildcat Action has the support of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Cat Specialist Group, a leading authority on international conservation.”

As a partner in Scottish Wildcat Action – the largest project ever undertaken to save the endangered Scottish wildcat – RZSS is working closely with 22 of Scotland’s leading scientific and conservation organisations, as well as land managers, veterinarians and local people across Scotland. We believe this gives us the broadest possible expertise to tackle the complex issue of declining wildcat populations, an approach which has been endorsed by the IUCN, one of the world’s foremost authorities on international nature conservation.

Have you come to visit this page from the future?

Our charity now leads Saving Wildcats, a European partnership project which builds on the work of Scottish Wildcat Action and follows a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return policy to help manage threats to Scotland's wildcats.

Get up to date with Scottish wildcat conservation at savingwildcats.org.uk/history and savingwildcats.org.uk/FAQs