NEWSLINK: Wildcats set for big return to the Cairngorms in major £3.2m project

A report published in February by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Cat Specialist Group says that populations of wildcats, which have resided in Scotland for thousands of years, are no longer viable due to hybridisation with domestic and feral cats.


With extinction looming, a £3.2m rescue package will see the wildcats reintroduced in the Cairngorms National Park from 2022.


The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will lead the Saving Wildcats project, which will build on the work of the Scottish Wildcat Action partnership, supported by a £3.2m EU LIFE grant and co-funding from the Garfield Western Foundation, the National Trust for Scotland, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the European Nature Trust.


The six-year project will be based at the RZSS’s Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore, which will provide breeding, veterinary care, remote monitoring and training.


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