A new organisation, the first of its kind in Britain, was launched yesterday (Tuesday 14 July) and aims to reintroduce wolves, lynx, pelicans and other species. Rewilding Britain is looking to bring back these missing species as well as encouraging native forests and helping parts of the sea recover from industrial fishing.
Lynx, by Peter Cairns
It will seek to restore species that used to live here but have since become extinct or very rare. These include beavers, wild boar, bison, cranes, pelicans, sturgeon, bluefin tuna, lynx and eventually wolves, grey whales, humpbacks and sperm whales. Rewilding Britain hopes to establish at least three core areas of rewilded land by 2030, which means, in each case, 100,000 hectares or more.
Rebecca Wrigley, programme manager for Rewilding Britain, said: “An important part of our work will be to inspire and inform, and build a wider movement for rewilding. Rewilding projects on the ground will be locally owned and locally run. Our new website features a selection of fantastic rewilding projects that are already up and running across Britain.”
“We hope we can gather a groundswell of support. We want to amplify the message that some pioneers have been putting out for decades, and attract new support. Rewilding is really for everyone who cares about our future. Our ecosystems need us.”
Rewilding Britain was inspired by the success of George Monbiot’s book Feral: rewilding the land, sea and human life. This tapped into a hitherto-unnoticed public desire for change. Subsequent excitement about the prospects of returning beaver and lynx reinforced the belief that many people would like Britain to become a wilder place.
George Monbiot will be a key supporter of the organisation. He said: “The overwhelmingly positive response to Feral was quite unexpected. It seems the book put into words what many people were thinking and longing for. I am thrilled that it has led to the formation of Rewilding Britain.”
“The changes we’re calling for would be considered unexceptional almost anywhere else in Europe, where in many countries populations of beavers, boar, lynx and wolves are already recovering rapidly. So far the public appetite for change here has had few outlets. We want to change that, and to restore the living world and our relationship with it.”
Rewilding Britain has been founded with the support of key organisations such as Friends of the Earth,Forestry Commission, Trees for Life, John Muir Trust, Cairngorms National Park, National Trust and The Ecology Trust among others. You can find out more including reading the charity’s manifesto at the Rewilding Britain website.