BBC's biased backing for bears in the Highlands
Watching last night's Natural World programme on BBC2, I had expected a balanced assessment of plans to introduce animal species to the Alladale estate that are currently extinct in Scotland. Instead we got the views of the landowner, the estate manager, two estate workers, the estate's environmental consultant, a reserve owner from South Africa and several others who were in favour of creating a 23,000 acre Higland Game Reserve. The narrator treated us to a commentary describing the great benefits of reintroducing moose, brown bears, lynx, wild boar and wolves would bring. The only dissenting voice was the excellent Cameron Macneish who had less than a minute to explain his opposition. It is a pity the BBC decided to produce such a biased programme about an environmental issue that could have an enormous effect on a Highland wilderness, when a balanced approach was needed.
Update: In the interest of balance I have added a link to the Alladale Estate Website - here. I would recommend taking a look at their accomodation section and you will get an idea of who the Wildland Reserve is aimed at.
I completely agree with you on this. The BBC were extolling the virtues of
the land owner's plans and totally blanking the problems they would bring.
Scotland, unlike America and Africa, is not big enough for this. If one
landowner gets away with it more will follow suit. Under the guise of
'wilding' they will restrict access to great swathes of our country and it
will become the playground of the rich and famous with the rest of the
Scottish people left with only our national parks.
Pete
The ecologist they interviewed used an interesting word - experiment - and
that is exactly what it would be with none of the so-called experts
entirely sure what the outcome could be. I cherish the right we have to
roam in Scotland and I am angry at the prospect of 23,000 acres being
fenced off and people charged over £35 each to visit a reserve populated
with species that have been extinct in the wild for hundreds and in some
cases thousands of years in order to undertake an ecological experiment.