Today, Scottish Wildcats are incredibly rare.
They are one of the UK's most endangered animals today.
Scottish Wildcats are critically endangered today. These beautiful animals are so rare, that there is estimated to only be between 30 to 35 of them left in the wild.
Once, these cats lived throughout Scotland, England and Wales. However, today, the Scottish Wildcat is now extinct from most of the land that they once roamed.
Scottish Wildcats are Britain's last remaining wild cat species. They are also one of the few land predators that we have left in Britain, as many of our land predators are now extinct in the UK. These animals that are now extinct, that were once land predators in Britain, includes wolves and lynxes.
There have been people who want to bring back animals like wolves and lynxes back to the British countryside. Wolves and lynxes still exist in other parts of Europe, so, it is possible that we could bring back these species to the British countryside.
The decline of Britain's wild animals can be traced back to hundreds of years in the past. The lynx became extinct in Britain in the medieval era. They went extinct around 1,300 years ago. It is believed their extinction happened in 700 AD.
The wolf in Britain became extinct hundreds of years after the lynx did. The wolf population in Britain was declining hundreds of years before they became extinct. Their population started to decline in 1000 AD.
Wolves in Scotland and England were hunted to extinction. In the 15th century, this resulted in wolves in England becoming extinct. And, in Scotland, due to the same persecution of being hunted by people, the last known wolf was killed in Scotland in 1680. Therefore, wolves have been extinct across Britain for hundreds of years now.
Wolves weren't the only animal in trouble in Britain during this era; the wildcats were in trouble too. The wildcats were also being hunted, and, they were also suffering because of habitat loss, due to people destroying their natural habitat (such as forests). Eventually, this resulted in wildcats becoming extinct in Southern England during the 16th century. They held on in the North longer.
In Northern England, the wildcats held on for a few hundred more years. But still, persecution of the wildcats resulted in the wildcat becoming extinct in Northern England too. It's thought that by around 1860, the Wildcats were also extinct in Northern England. The wildcats also became extinct in Wales around this time.
So, the wildcats were extinct by around 1860 in England and Wales.
The persecution of wildcats was also happening in Scotland too. By the time of the first world war, the wildcat also disappeared just about everywhere in Scotland, due to the cats being persecuted; while some of their disappearances were also down to habitat destruction (people destroying places like their forest home).
By the time the first world war happened, Scottish Wildcats were extinct in the lowlands of Scotland and some of the highlands. The only place that they remained in Scotland was the North West of Scotland.
These beautiful cats almost went extinct in Scotland too around the time of the first world war. However, the first world war resulted in a reduction of the Scottish Wildcat being hunted and, it is because of this that they managed to start recovering in Scotland. Reforestation also helped the Scottish Wildcat bounce back.
The UK government created the Forestry Commission in 1919. This forestry commission was set up to help reforest Britain. As a result, it helped animals like the Scottish Wildcat. It resulted in the Scottish Wildcats population increasing.
The Scottish Wildcat was then given protected species status by the UK government during the 1980s. The Scottish Wildcat was given legal protection by the government in 1988, through the Wildlife and Countryside (1988) Act.
By the late 20th century, things were looking up for the Scottish Wildcat. The Scottish Wildcats were given legal protection by the government. Their population also had increased since the start of the 20th century. By the end of the 20th century, in the late 1990s, it was estimated that the Scottish Wildcat population was over 3,000 cats. Things were looking good for the Scottish Wildcat at this time.
But.
Things were to change again for the Scottish Wildcat. And this time, it wasn't for the better. By the turn of the century, Scottish devolution had happened. As a result of Scottish devolution, environmental policy was devolved, which resulted in the conservation of wild animals and the protection of ecosystems (like forests) being under the care of the Scottish government. This has been a disaster for the Scottish Wildcat, as, in the course of 20 years of Scottish devolution, the Scottish Wildcat has seen their population decline from over 3,000 cats in the wild to there just being 30 to 35 wildcats in the wild of Scotland.
These numbers show that the Scottish government has failed to protect the Scottish Wildcat. They have not continued the successful conservation policy that the UK government put in place during the 20th century, and, as a result, this has resulted in Scottish Wildcats being pushed towards extinction and almost becoming extinct.
It can be argued that the Scottish government has also caused the decline of the Scottish Wildcat due to their own policies. It was reported in 2018 that the Scottish governments plan to destroy the wildcats forest could result in a third of the Scottish Wildcat population being wiped out.
In 2018, a petition was started that has now gathered almost 1 million signatures to save the Scottish Wildcats forest home. Since then, the Scottish government hasn't committed to saving their home - the Scottish government is failing these cats.
The failure to protect these cats, properly preserve them and their forest home, has been apparent for at least over half a decade now. In 2014, almost exactly six years to the day, a brilliant piece was written which highlighted why the Scottish Wildcat was in decline and heading towards extinction. In short, the reasons the piece gave, was that the Scottish Wildcat was disappearing were as follows.
Why Is The Scottish Wildcat Critically Endangered?
There are a few reasons why the Scottish Wildcat is critically endangered and facing extinction today. This includes: 1) The Scottish government's neglect of the Scottish Wildcat, 2) the Scottish Wildcats habitat being destroyed, 3) a focus on animals like Pandas by the Scottish government, rather than Scotland's own endangered species. If the Scottish government doesn't protect Scotland's own endangered and critically endangered species, then, who will?
The Scottish Wildcat population has remained the same for the past six years at least. This shows that nothing has changed for the Scottish Wildcat, in the terms of their population. The lack of population change shows that this cat is being failed.
We can compare the Scottish Wildcat, to another critically endangered cat: the Amur Leopard. The Amur Leopard is still critically endangered today. However, the difference with the Amur Leopard is, is that successful conservation work, has resulted in these beautiful cats seeing a positive change in their population. In 2000, the Amur Leopard population was 30 cats (much like the Scottish Wildcat population today). Within seven years, things were on the up for Amur Leopards, as by 2007, the Amur Leopard population was 57 Amur Leopards.
Amur Leopards almost saw their population double in the space of 7 years due to successful wildlife conservation work. However, in 6 years, the Scottish Wildcat population has remained at about 30 cats. The comparison between the Amur Leopard and the Scottish Wildcat shows that one of the cats (the Amur Leopards) has seen successful conservation work happening on their behalf, while the other (Scottish Wildcats) have not seen successful conservation happen.
Since 2007, the Amur Leopard population has increased and now their population is more than 84 cats in the wild today. The Amur Leopards population increase over the last 20 years, isn't just a conservation success story, it also shows in comparison that the Scottish Wildcat has been neglected over the years.
It also shows that the Scottish Wildcat hasn't seen the same conservation success story as the Amur Leopard. If successful conservation work was being applied to the Scottish Wildcat too, perhaps today we would be celebrating and seeing an increase in the population of the Scottish Wildcat.
With a stagnated population, the Scottish Wildcat isn't being pulled back from the brink of extinction. Over the last six years (at least), the population of the Scottish Wildcat has remained the same. But, what of the future?
It isn't too late for the Scottish government to implement a policy which sees successful conservation work carried out to preserve and save the Scottish Wildcat from extinction. There are breeding programmes in place for the Scottish Wildcat, but that isn't enough, the Scottish government also has to save and preserve the last forests where the Scottish Wildcats are found today.
If we can preserve these forests and reforest to give the Scottish Wildcats more land to roam in, then, we have a much better chance of seeing the Scottish Wildcat recover in Scotland. And therefore, we have a much better chance of seeing the Scottish Wildcats population increase.
But, time is running out for the Scottish Wildcat.
The time to save these beautiful cats is now. Our actions today will determine if these beautiful cats see their population increase or if we see them becoming extinct.
We know what we have to do to save the Scottish Wildcat. The only question is 'Does the Scottish government have the will to save them? Or, will this cat become extinct on their watch?' Where we will be with the Scottish Wildcat in the next six years, will be a result of which direction we choose for these cats.
If you want to help Scottish Wildcats, then you can do.
You can help Scottish Wildcats by adopting one for Christmas - here!
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