I am generally unkeen to publish anonymous pieces here, simply because people must take responsibility for their views, but I am persuaded in this case that it is appropriate. I don’t know who the author is but I would guess a male working in either a statutory or a voluntary conservation organisation, But that’s a…
Tag: beaver
Guest blog – Illusions of Abundance by Cathy Robinson
Cathy lives in Hove, where she is in her final year of a Masters in Nature & Travel Writing. She enjoys writing about the natural world, and was longlisted in the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year 2023 competition. She volunteers at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex as a volunteer ranger and white…
Sunday book review – Cruel Intentions by Alan Stewart
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This is the sequel to the excellent Calls from the Wild (reviewed here). PC Bob McKay gets to tackle more wildlife crimes such as Fox hunting and deer poaching. Grouse moors, and their shady managers, play large parts in this volume along with bothered Beavers, baited Badgers and disturbed dolphins. Alan Stewart writes very well…
Guest blog – A Year of Mixed Fortunes for Scotland’s Beavers by Tom Bowser
Tom Bowser is the owner of Argaty and author of A Sky Full of Kites: A Rewilding Story (reviewed here). Argaty is a working farm based on the Braes of Doune in central Scotland. It has been home to the Bowser family since 1916. The farm has two aims: to produce food in an environmentally…
Guest blog – Blue Frogs and Scimitar Cats by Les Wallace
Who I am – Scottish with a fascination for wildlife from childhood – in lieu of formal qualifications (and not being able to flash them about!) – was on the 1990 International Youth Conservation Exchange to Hungary, was the 1993 winner of the BBC Wildlife Magazine ‘Realms of the Russian Bear’ competition and spent nearly…
Press release – Trees for Life, Beaver consultation
Bid to make Glen Affric Scotland’s next beaver release site A community consultation that will help decide whether beavers are reintroduced to Glen Affric has been launched in the Scottish Highlands, led by Trees for Life. The rewilding charity is carrying out the consultation on behalf of four private landowners and Forestry and Land Scotland,…
Sunday book review – Birds, Beasts and Bedlam by Derek Gow
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A very enjoyable read – Derek Gow has good stories galore and not only are they good stories, but he tells them very well. We learn quite a lot about Derek’s past, including his early jobs – an interesting mixture. But much of this book is about keeping animals in captivity, often for conservation purposes,…
Sunday book review – Cornerstones by Benedict Macdonald
This is, in my opinion (and why are you reading this review if you don’t want my opinion?), Benedict Macdonald’s best book to date. Yes, Rebirding (reviewed here) was a very good book, and Orchard (with Nicholas Gates, reviewed here) was perfectly OK, but this is a very, very good book. Nine groups of species:…
Disease risk and Beaver reintroductions
It has been brought to my attention that there is a report, commissioned by Natural England, entitled Revised Disease Risk Analysis for the Conservation Translocation of the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber) to England, 2021. This report discusses, I gather, the potential for introduced Beavers to spread diseases to other Beavers, other widlife, domestic stock…
Press release – Argaty Red Kites/Beaver Trust
Argaty Red Kites granted beaver translocation licence In a significant policy step, Argaty Red Kites in Perthshire has been granted Scotland’s first edge-of-range beaver translocation licence. Argaty, a working farm which is home to the award-winning red kite project, has been awarded a licence by the Scottish Government’s nature agency NatureScot for the release of…