Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Last chance to save the UK’s most endangered carnivore – the Scottish wildcat

Allan Bantick, left, and Dr Roo Campbell get the message across that the time to act is now
Allan Bantick, left, and Dr Roo Campbell get the message across that the time to act is now

Campaigners have warned this is the “last generation” that has a chance of saving the Scottish Wildcat in its natural habitat.

The Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) group launched its major new campaign to save the UK’s most endangered carnivore yesterday and named it #GenerationWildcat.

The initiative is targeting the general public, outdoor enthusiasts, farmers and gamekeepers as well as “citizen scientists” who could help by reporting sightings of wildcats.

There are five priority areas Strathbogie, Angus Glens, Northern Strathspey, Morvern, and Strathpeffer that have the most wildcats.

Wildcat conservation group launches campaign to protect Clashindarroch Forest

The main threat to the wildcat is hybridisation by mating with feral or domestic cats but disease, snaring and lamping also have a considerable impact.

Now the SWA want to people to neuter their cats, gamekeepers to be “wildcat friendly” such as avoiding using snares, while farmers can ensure their cats are disease free.

SWA Project Manager Dr Roo Campbell said: “The time to save the Scottish wildcat is now. We are almost certainly the last generation who has a realistic chance of saving this iconic species from extinction in Scotland.

“Wildcats here face three key threats: hybridisation with feral domestic cats, disease and accidental killing. “We will only regret tomorrow what we don’t do today, so I would encourage as many people as possible to join in this campaign.”

He added: “It is vital that we all work together and become part of the fight to save our Highland Tiger.”

The SWA want all feral and domestic cats neutered to prevent cross mating of species and have recommended that to the Scottish Government.

SWA Steering Group Chairman Allan Bantick OBE made the recommendations given to the Scottish Government public for the first time.

He said: “We sent a report from the SWA steering group outlining the position the cat was in and emphasising there was various options to deal with that – soft options right up to hard options.

“And the one that we recommended to the government is where all domestic cats within our priority areas as a first step should be neutered, vaccinated and microchipped but particularly neutered.”

The recommendation then calls for that to be extended nationwide from 2025 a move that would likely “require legislation.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham, has already offered her strong support.

In a video message she said: “The key for us is to turn that support into meaningful and effective action. What we need to get across is that now is the time to save Scotland’s wildcat. The actions we take today and that we encourage others to take through the #GenerationWildcat movement will determine the future of this much loved and charismatic species.”