Wolves to be re-introduced in Scotland?

Of course wolves should be re-introduced into Scotland, they have every right to be there. If I took all the people out of Japan and they wanted to go back as it was where they belonged - let them!  There are not going to be any 'wolf attacks' really, but do keep an eye open of course. Although, careful planning must go into where and how they will be re-introduced, as bad timing or location could be disastrous. 

There�s a wolf conservation park quite near to us, if you�re a member you get to go on woodland walks to view the wolves.

 

http://ukwolf.org/

 

They are magnificent creatures, it would be great to have them roaming wild again.

Gallery here

 

http://ukwolf.org/uk-wolf/gallery/

 

I don't know... Britain is quite crowded already... and their free space is running out. Maybe mass emmigration out of Britain these days may help...?

Wolves have gotten a bad rap. There isn't a single Wolf attack on record yet in the United States. Yet we still wiped them out.

From my understanding, there is livestock raising in Scotland(sheep), will this affect the industry

Wolves were exterminated from New England (Northeastern  U.S.A.) back in the 1700's. By the 1800's the forests also had been mostly exterminated, replaced by farms. The farms were mostly gone by the early 1900's as people moved into cities, and forests grew back in many parts of New England. Wolves returned to, and they didn't have to be re-introduced by humans, they migrated in naturally, coming down from the Maritime provinces of Canada (where they had continued to exist). These "new" wolves are partially naturally hybridized with coyotes (a species of small wolf which migrated in at the same time, coming from western U.S.A.). They are quite common now but very secretive, hardly ever seen. I've only had 3 sightings, once one was on a path in the woods on a dead deer carcass left by hunters, once one crossed the road in front of me while I was driving, and once I saw a nursing female with heavy teats in a suburban field. I also saw the carcass of one on a highway where it had been hit by a car. They are very cautious, timid, and secretive and do everything they can to avoid humans. The only problems with them over the last 50 years, since they've returned, have been livestock kills (few and far between, usually calves and sheep) though they've also been known to prey on domestic cats. Rabies is prevalent in New England, usually affecting foxes, skunks, raccoons, etc., but occasionally a wolf will be infected, and that is the only time that they've been known to attack a human.

Originally posted by tommy From my understanding, there is livestock raising in Scotland(sheep), will this affect the industry

It's not so much that they kill sheep but more about the manner in which they kill them, A bear for instance will swipe a sheep, killing it instantly and devouring it at its own leasure. Three or four wolves on the other hand, will rip the sheep's face off, disembowel it and proceed to eat it alive, from the inside out. Pass this little gem of information over to the British public and their squeamish little tummies will turn upside down and no matter how hard you work at convincing them that over population of deer herds is much crueler to not only the deer, but countless other species and the enviroment....they just wont get it. Which leaves us with the big bad wolf...

Originally posted by unclefred My guess would be the excess deer population has more to do with excess hunting restrictions. Meanwhile, government scientists get new furry toys to play with, and make public access to the wild slim and difficult. At least that's the story in my state.