Culture wars by ministers over the reintroduction of animals such as the beaver and the lynx must end if we are to restore nature in England, the head of the government’s taskforce on the issue has said.
Dr Andy Clements, an ornithologist who helped establish the government regulator Natural England, runs the species reintroduction taskforce, and he’s well placed to do so. He was one of those behind the hugely successful reintroduction of red kites into England.
He said he was frustrated by the debate over reintroducing species because it was based on “anecdote, not evidence”, when it is clear that increasing the abundance of rare and locally extinct species by releasing them into the wild can help restore nature.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Culture wars by ministers over the reintroduction of animals such as the beaver and the lynx must end if we are to restore nature in England, the head of the government’s taskforce on the issue has said.
Dr Andy Clements, an ornithologist who helped establish the government regulator Natural England, runs the species reintroduction taskforce, and he’s well placed to do so.
“Our main task is to improve the quality and quantity of species reintroductions that contribute to nature’s recovery and that they’re done in a way that society finds acceptable or even delights about.
“And while the taskforce hasn’t overtly gone and said anything about that, one of the pieces of work we are doing is to look at the social and ecological implications of reestablishing the broad predator guild in England.
Officials have created a licensing programme which would give conservation groups permission under certain conditions to release beavers into the wild, but ministers have so far refused to sign it off.
“One of the things that is very disappointing for the taskforce is that species reintroductions can make a really significant contribution to the government’s targets on nature’s recovery.
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