Scotland is one of the most wildlife-depleted countries in the world. Yet, no reintroduction is on the cards.

According to one study, big predators are necessary to maintain healthy ecosystems. For instance, wolves and their co-predators could help solve Scotland’s biodiversity crisis and bring balance back to Scottish ecosystems by regulating populations of deer, foxes and badgers. In doing so, big predators may also contribute to the fight against climate change by enhancing carbon storage capacities. Overpopulation of herbivores can deplete plant species and trees which capture carbon dioxide emissions responsible for global warming.

But prejudice against large predators still runs deep, especially among farmers regardless of any tangible benefits that predators could bestow even on farmers themselves. The recent downgrading of the legal protection afforded to the wolf in continental Europe is a case in point.