When a species becomes protected, usually action follows to protect the species which has been declared protected. A protected species is usually protected from harm or being killed, and their habitat is usually protected from disturbance and destruction.
If a protected species isn't protected through actions by the government which says it was going to protect them, then the law or promise stating that the species is protected is meaningless.
Take the Scottish governments promise last year that beavers in Scotland would be given protected status. On the surface, it seems like a good promise. But, if we scratch the surface of this promise we find quickly that it isn't really a promise to protect beavers at all, but window dressing to make it looks as if the Scottish government is doing something to protect these endangered animals, as beavers - an endangered animal in Scotland - are allowed to be shot and killed.
The WWF estimates that there are less than 400 individual Sumatran tigers remaining today. Therefore, they have roughly a similar population to beavers in Scotland. Now imagine that last year the Indonesian government classified Sumatran tigers as a protected species in the country, but people could still shot and kill the tigers. Then, on the following year, 100 of the 400 tigers were gunned down - there would probably be an outcry and people would think that the Indonesian declaration to give the Sumatran tigers protection as meaningless.
In Scotland last year, the Scottish government said it would give beavers protected status. But at the same time, beavers could still be shot and killed. The beaver population the last time it was estimated was 430 beavers. However, a recent report has shown through a freedom of information request that 100 beavers have been killed in Scotland recently, they were killed after 45 licences were given by the Scottish governments heritage branch.
The assault on endangered species by the Scottish government isn't just isolated to beavers. One of the other endangered animals that have suffered is the Scottish wildcat, which is Scotland's most endangered animal and is supposed to be a protected species. During the 1980's the UK government brought in legislation through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Then they were protected further in 2004 by the Scottish government before the SNP came to power through the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.
Even though the Scottish wildcat is supposed to be protected by law, the SNP government has failed to protect them since they came to power. The population of Scottish wildcats stood at 3,500 in the 1990's, just a few years before Scottish devolution. By the time the SNP came to power in 2007, the Scottish wildcat population had declined significantly - to 400 individual wildcats or fewer. Since the SNP have came to power, almost the entire Scottish wildcat population have been wiped out, as it is now estimated that there are only 35 of the cats remaining.
Again, the Scottish wildcat was supposed to be a species that the Scottish government were protecting, but they are a species which have almost become extinct under the SNP's watch. Partly that has been to do with decisions the party has made involving wildcats - the SNP have been causing deforestation in the Scottish highlands, which is the last remaining stronghold for these endangered cats, two years ago it was reported that the Scottish governments deforestation of the Scottish wildcats habitat could result a third of the remaining cats being killed.
Scotland As One Of The World's Most Nature-Depleted Countries
Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. In 2016, one in eleven species was facing extinction in Scotland. By 2019, even more species face extinction in Scotland, with one in every nine species now facing extinction. The State of Nature report in 2019 found that there had been a decline in species in Scotland by 24%.
When we are one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, why is our natural world within Scotland not being protected by the Scottish government?
Why are endangered species being classified as protected and then not being protected?
Endangered Species Are Not The Only Ones
Endangered species are not the only wild animals that have been getting killed in Scotland recently. Other wild animals have been on the receiving end of the same treatment.
Last year there was a call to end Scotland's hare cull, this was after it was revealed that tens of thousands of hares were being killed every year in Scotland. In 2018, Sturgeon said that the hare culls were ''unacceptable''. Again, these are meaningless words that have no real substance, two years later there has been no hare cull ban ore any change in the situation.
Mountain hares that are being killed in Scotland are one of the wild animals that have suffered the most in recent decades - a staggering 99% of their population has been wiped out since the 1950's, and, therefore, only 1% of the Mountain hare population remains.
The False Moral Outrage
The SNP have been vocally opposed to the UK government badger cull. But the supposed outrage over the badger cull seems like a false moral outrage from the SNP.
Since the UK governments badger cull started in 2013, 100,000 badgers have been killed. This cull was over the period of seven years. In comparison, it was revealed last year that the Scottish government had given licenses for 130,000 wild animals to be killed. Therefore, the Scottish government, going on these figures, have licensed to kill more wild animals and in a shorter period of time than the UK government has. Therefore, the SNP's
The Sixth Mass Extinction And Scotland
The culling of animals, in particular the ones which are endangered and the no real protection of species which are supposed to be protected in Scotland is important - the world is in a sixth mass extinction event and Scotland is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Therefore, we could take away from this that Scotland has not only lost much of its natural world and wild animals, but we have a government in place that seems to be failing to protected our most endangered animals in Scotland.
The SNP speaks a lot about the climate emergency, but says very little about the biodiversity crisis. The UN has called this crisis a 'dangerous decline' in our biodiversity. We cannot have a healthy environment if we do not preserve the planets ecosystems and wildlife. Scotland cannot have a healthy environment if we do not preserve our ecosystems and wildlife.
The biodiversity crisis is strongly interlinked with the climate crisis. It's easy to make grand gestures were you have a government saying they will be emitting zero carbon emissions by 2040, it's easy to promise that because the results will be shown in two decades time. However, perhaps the reason for not addressing and making a big deal about the biodiversity crisis is because it shows and demands instant results - you cannot put off action to saving endangered species for two decades, like you can with carbon emissions.
When the Scottish government has expressed the willingness to help endangered species - such as the Scottish wildcat and the beavers, the Scottish governments word has been meaningless, as one of these animals (the critically endangered Scottish wildcat) has had its habitat destroyed and, the other one (the beavers), have been killed, even though they are endangered.
If the Scottish government is really serious about the environment and climate emergency - like it says it is - then, it cannot put promises about the health of the environment into the future, make token gestures like introducing a 5p plastic bag charge, it cannot praise the EU and look away when the EU has destroyed 700,00 hectares of the rainforest, it cannot say its protecting species then do nothing to protect them in practice and, it cannot say that it is serious about protecting the environment and wildlife while it has cut 40% of environment funding in recent years.
Our generation could be the generation that either allows animal extinctions to happen or prevents them from happening in the future. Our action or inaction will decide what type of planet we have for our children, grandchildren and beyond in the coming decades - they deserve to enjoy a planet which has healthy habitats and one where they can enjoy the wildlife we've enjoyed.
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