Chair of Perth-based gamekeeping body for Scotland calls for predator controls to save endangered birds
dailyrecord.co.ukThe chairman of the Perth -based gamekeeping body for Scotland has hit out at environmental policies for pushing one of the country’s rarest birds to the brink of extinction for a second time.
A study by the NatureScot agency warned the capercaillie - the largest of the grouse species and known as the ‘cock-of-the-woods’ - will disappear from its last remaining pockets within two to three decades.The Western capercaillie became extinct in the UK in the late 18th century but was reintroduced successfully to Scotland in the middle of the 19th century, with the population growing to around 20,000 by the 1970s.NatureScot’s report reveals those numbers have plummeted to just 1114 birds, with most of them living among the forests of the Cairngorms.NatureScot said predation from foxes, pine martens and crows was the biggest factor in the capercaillie’s decline, alongside increased visitor numbers and recreational activities.
Alex Hogg MBE, chair of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), based at Inveralmond, said the report showed that his members had been right all along in calling for predator control to protect Scotland’s wildlife.
He explained: “A sizeable chunk of Scotland’s last remaining capercaillie forests, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland and RSPB Scotland, have had no predators controlled in them for years.
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk