Moose on the loose in the highlands?
- Thread starter sp4rkman
- Start date
I fear that it will all end in tears. I can't see wolves & bears passing up deer in favour of slow moving, easy to catch sheep when they inevitably break out of the enclosure. And I don't think that the elk/moose will do especially well in that terrain. Introductions in NZ failed dismally where other deer species did much better.
I want to be wrong, mind ..........
I want to be wrong, mind ..........
russ91
Well-Known Member
to be honest i actually think he is right i think we should do something tho natalise Britain a bit
i think we need to do something I'm not saying that we should bring big predators into Britain but something needs doing we are all for doing something that will help us but i think we need to starting to help out country soon it will end up like Tokyo (over cramped) we need to start thinking of our country and look after it.
and no before some one says I'm not a peace loving green preacher
i think we need to do something I'm not saying that we should bring big predators into Britain but something needs doing we are all for doing something that will help us but i think we need to starting to help out country soon it will end up like Tokyo (over cramped) we need to start thinking of our country and look after it.
and no before some one says I'm not a peace loving green preacher
Hi Russ,
Its a nice idea, but as other members pointed out Bears, Wolves and Lynx eat sheep, horses, cows and family pets! Even in Canada and the States they are having real problems and look at the land they have! How many people and Moose are killed on the roads in the States each year? Lets look after what we have before we go all Jurrasic Park.
What a waste of money.
Its a nice idea, but as other members pointed out Bears, Wolves and Lynx eat sheep, horses, cows and family pets! Even in Canada and the States they are having real problems and look at the land they have! How many people and Moose are killed on the roads in the States each year? Lets look after what we have before we go all Jurrasic Park.
What a waste of money.
paul k
Well-Known Member
I see nothing wrong in principle with re-introducing animals that were once native and the European Elk (moose) is fine. It does very well in the northern forests of mainland Europe and should do OK in Scotland in the relatively small amount of Scottish habitat that suits it. It needs fairly sparse forest and lots of water to do well.
Wolves are another thing altogether and whilst it's a romantic idea to re-introduce them it will never happen for a number of reasons:
1) Wolves need a very large territory, far more than any one Scottish estate can provide
2) They would need to be fenced and thus not truly wild as excursions into neighbouring, possibly less welcoming estates would not be a good idea
3) They would kill sheep and cattle in preference to deer
4) To be a true reintroduction they would have to be European wolves and it's hard to think of a population large enough to provide stock animals
5) The public would generally be against it, especially in those areas where releases were proposed for all sorts of sometimes ill founded but genuinely held reasons.
The only predator that I could see being successful in a UK environment would be the European lynx and even then there would be problems.
Wolves are another thing altogether and whilst it's a romantic idea to re-introduce them it will never happen for a number of reasons:
1) Wolves need a very large territory, far more than any one Scottish estate can provide
2) They would need to be fenced and thus not truly wild as excursions into neighbouring, possibly less welcoming estates would not be a good idea
3) They would kill sheep and cattle in preference to deer
4) To be a true reintroduction they would have to be European wolves and it's hard to think of a population large enough to provide stock animals
5) The public would generally be against it, especially in those areas where releases were proposed for all sorts of sometimes ill founded but genuinely held reasons.
The only predator that I could see being successful in a UK environment would be the European lynx and even then there would be problems.
I own the lease next door to this man. He is not over popular in the local area. This is just one issue, the introduction of Wolves and other exotic creatures in his reintroduction scheme.
The estate used to be one of the premier estates in the area for Red Stalking, I should know I used there larder for my deer, which was another lease bordering his property. Their cull was 100 Stags and nearly 300 hinds off about 23000 acres. The deer numbers are not anywhere near that now.
Moose I have hunted and shot in Finland, and they prefer dense forest, with a great deal of space. There is no forest of any consequence on Alladale Estate, and in some areas there never where. I have also stalked it on a number of occassions, and it is unfenced. To fence it off would cost a fortune, and would defeat the object of re introduction of any wild animal as it will wander off the ground. This has been the cause of some problems I believe with the neighbouring estates, their feeder stags being culled to take the numbers down on Alladale, has not prooved popular.
Bear, Wolves, Moose belong in the past, you need huge areas to keep them on. AND as I have said before 23000 acres is not anywhere near enough for a pack of Wolves. As for aquiring more land the 4 neighbouring estates are not to my knowledge interested, apart from may be one, and that is not my place. But even then it is doubtful they would sell. There are programmes such as the re generation of the Caledonian Forest, Capercaille, Black Grouse and Red Kite that could be better supported, than trying to create a fantasy world.
Ohh and Moose once shot in Finland are put into a huge drag bag or sled and pulled out by a team of about 6 or 7 men
The estate used to be one of the premier estates in the area for Red Stalking, I should know I used there larder for my deer, which was another lease bordering his property. Their cull was 100 Stags and nearly 300 hinds off about 23000 acres. The deer numbers are not anywhere near that now.
Moose I have hunted and shot in Finland, and they prefer dense forest, with a great deal of space. There is no forest of any consequence on Alladale Estate, and in some areas there never where. I have also stalked it on a number of occassions, and it is unfenced. To fence it off would cost a fortune, and would defeat the object of re introduction of any wild animal as it will wander off the ground. This has been the cause of some problems I believe with the neighbouring estates, their feeder stags being culled to take the numbers down on Alladale, has not prooved popular.
Bear, Wolves, Moose belong in the past, you need huge areas to keep them on. AND as I have said before 23000 acres is not anywhere near enough for a pack of Wolves. As for aquiring more land the 4 neighbouring estates are not to my knowledge interested, apart from may be one, and that is not my place. But even then it is doubtful they would sell. There are programmes such as the re generation of the Caledonian Forest, Capercaille, Black Grouse and Red Kite that could be better supported, than trying to create a fantasy world.
Ohh and Moose once shot in Finland are put into a huge drag bag or sled and pulled out by a team of about 6 or 7 men
interesting thoughts mudman
i hav a piece of ground next to a deer farm , although i wish they would escape so i could hav a bit of sport , i would not like to shoot any deer that i thought had escaped from his enclosure that could be potentialy devastating to his lively hood if i shot it
i would hope genuine sports man would not put themselves in such a position that to cut the fence to get some action was acceptable but there are shooters out there that would, just glad that i am not associated with them even though i hav grown up around such people ,but the anti's do deserve a lot of the credit that i am sure
i hav a piece of ground next to a deer farm , although i wish they would escape so i could hav a bit of sport , i would not like to shoot any deer that i thought had escaped from his enclosure that could be potentialy devastating to his lively hood if i shot it
i would hope genuine sports man would not put themselves in such a position that to cut the fence to get some action was acceptable but there are shooters out there that would, just glad that i am not associated with them even though i hav grown up around such people ,but the anti's do deserve a lot of the credit that i am sure