Bid To Bring Highland Wolves Back Is Renewed
By Hector MacKenzie in the Inverness Courier 14 th February 1997
The man behind ambitious proposals to establish a wolf centre in the Highlands this week denied his dreams had been dashed - and voiced hope for the future.
Dr. Roger Panaman, who set up the Highland Wolf Fund amidst howls of protest from landowners anxious about the possible adverse effects on livestock, denied that fierce opposition had forced him to shelve his controversial plan.
Speaking to the Courier from his home in Oxford, Dr. Panaman who spent six months in Aviemore studying the possibilities of establishing a wolf centre and introducing a scheme of school visits, said his vision could still be realised if a suitable area of land could be identified and modest cash backing secured.
He pointed to surveys showing a third of Scots in favour of reintroducing wolves to the wilds of the Highlands and said that the majority could be convinced through the establishment of a wolf centre in the area.
Contrary to some reports, there was no fierce local opposition," declared Dr. Panaman. "I left my home in Oxford and came to the Aviemore area for six months to try and identify some land. We found a willing landlord but he pulled out after some stories which appeared in the local newspaper."
Dr. Panaman - who was a doctorate in carnivore behaviour from St. Andrews University - admitted that the wolf centre was fundamental to his proposals as it would provide the steady income required to further his ideas.
He denied that the programme was now unlikely to get off the ground. "A survey last year by Aberdeen University found that more than a third of Scots questioned would like to see the wolf returned to the Highlands. The centre would allow for the education of the public who would see that there is nothing to fear."
He said too that funding was required for an enviromental impact study and a school outreach programme using tame wolves.
Landowners fears were misplaced, he claimed. "Wolves wont go round killing flocks. They would take limited amounts of livestock but the are hunters and would be able to concentrate on their traditional prey which is deer."
He estimated the cost of setting up a centre to be as low as £15.000, but admitted getting a patch of land was crucial to the scheme. "One problem is that 95% of Inverness-shire is controlled by around 200 people."
Dr. Panaman said the venture could become a tourism moneyspinner and claimed that the scheme still had a chance of success if land could be identified.
Farmer's representatives have previously voiced alarm at long-term proposals to reintroduce wolves to the wild because of the threat to sheep. The National Farmer's Union has said the scheme is unpractical.
Sandy Russell, the Highland Council representative for Laggan, Dalwhinnie and Newtonmore - who has in the past been dubbed by colleagues the wolf of Badenoch - claimed strong local opposition to Dr. Panamans proipsal's and said that the majority of his electorate had "no time for it at all."
Scottish Natural Heritage has also come out against reintroducing wolves, although it is known that privately many conservationists are in favour of such a scheme if carefully monitored.
A World Wide Fund for Nature spokesman said that if the scheme was to have any chance of success, it would require not only a balanced habitat but also the support of the locals. That was not the case in this instance.
Ironically, the European wolf has been spreading west from eastern Europe and can now be found in parts of Germany and Italy. But it would require human intervention to reintroduce it into Britain. Dr. Panaman confirmed that his proposals could be put back on track if a landowner comes forward with a suitable area of land.
The last wolf in the Highlands was shot in the mid-18th century.
© Inverness Courier: 14 th February 1997
 |
 |
 |
| Return to index | Return to Exotic Scottish Animals | Return to Wolves |