The Alladale elk featured in the BBC Natural World programme. Photo: BBC/Mike Birkhead
The controversial Highland estate where millionaire landowner Paul Lister wants to establish a wilderness reserve is at the centre of another row.
Two Highland Council officers are at loggerheads over the renewal of the Alladale estate’s Dangerous Wild Animals licence. The authority’s environmental health manager has recommended renewal of the permit, while its access officer has lodged an objection.
The disagreement reflects the view that the law governing the keeping of dangerous animals such as the estate’s wild boar and elk is in direct conflict with Scotland’s right-to-roam legislation.
The Alladale Wilderness Reserve, near Ardgay, was granted a licence to keep 17 wild boar and two European elk in 2007. That licence has lapsed and Highland Council will consider its renewal on 1 February.
Chris Ratter, area environmental health manager, is recommending the estate have its permit renewed, but access officer Matt Dent has objected because, he says, the enclosure in which the animals are kept denies walkers and mountaineers their access rights. The estate owners deny this.
Mr Ratter’s report to the licensing committee says: “A meeting was arranged at Alladale to attempt to reach a compromise acceptable to all parties. The applicant [Alladale Wilderness Reserve] has stated that they do not intend to vary their original application.”
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act gives the public the right to cross land. Local authorities can exempt areas from the provisions, but Highland Council has not pursued this course. The boar enclosure and the neighbouring area containing the elk are, according to Mr Ratter, ‘within the remit of land to which the public has access’.
The report continues: “The council has a duty to ‘assert, protect and keep open and free from obstruction or encroachment any route, waterway or other means by which access rights may reasonably be exercised’, but ‘is not required to do anything in pursuance of the duty which would be inconsistent with the carrying on of any of the authority’s other functions’.”
The environmental health manager does admit that, because of the size and position of the enclosure, the grant of a licence may conflict with the access expectations of walkers in the area – a contention disputed by the landowners – and that access officer Matt Dent has received a complaint from a hillwalker trying to descend from a mountain.
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has also raised concerns about the enclosure, which has 1.5m (5ft) fencing and an electrified ‘snout wire’ to stop the animals escaping. A condition of the dangerous animals licence is that gates are kept locked.
The animal enclosure lies on the route to the 846m (2,772ft) corbett Càrn Bàn at the head of Glen Alladale.
The estate has also given notice of its intention to apply for a zoo licence to keep wolves and wildcats on the land, in addition to the boar and elk already at Alladale.
James Roberts
03 February 2010Whilst the right to roam legislation is on the whole a very positive thing, I do think that the degree of opposition being shown towards the plans at Alladale could prove counter-productive in the long run.
The Scottish Highlands are undeniably beautiful, but they are, in many ways, an ecological desert. All of Britain's native big predators have been exterminated by man, and the resultant very high deer population means that native trees cannot grow. The barren hills that we see today may have a stark beauty, but they are far from natural.
As I read it, the long term aim at Alladale is to try to restore some of the damage done by man over the centuries. This has to include restoring the natural balance between predator and prey. Similar projects have been carried out across the world, often with great success, and so I'm not sure it makes any sense to portray the project as particularly eccentric.
It would be a great shame if such a worthy cause was stopped in its tracks by another worthy cause. Even if the whole Estate and adjacent land was fenced off (thus allowing the reintroduction of wolves), would it not be possible to allow access to ramblers using gates or stiles?
There are vast areas of Europe and America where walkers share land with large wildlife, pretty much without incident.
Quite apart from the economic arguments in favour of the Alladale plans, many British people would welcome an opportunity to view their own native wildlife in its natural setting, without antagonising the rambling community at the same time!
Shuggy
15 July 2011James, you like others are missing the point. This is NOT about wolves being introduced to a natural environment. It's solely about Paul Lister making money. I personally would have no objections to wolves being introduced, IN THE WILD, ie unfenced, but I am not a farmer!! Read your own penultimate paragraph. The operative word is the third one, VAST!!! As you so rightly state, Europe and America have VAST areas, we, in case you haven't noticed...DONT!!!