Moose in the Glen Natural World


Moose in the Glen

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The Highlands of Scotland have witnessed many upheavals.

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But they've seen nothing

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like what's happening in the glens north of Inverness.

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Here, one man is trying to realise a big idea.

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Paul Lister is trying to bring back

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wild animals that were once common in Scotland.

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Mammals such as moose, wolves and bears

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that were wiped out centuries ago.

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His plans have produced howls of derision as well as enthusiastic support.

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Is he a nutcase or will he be hailed as a modern-day Monarch of the Glen?

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There are huge obstacles to overcome, but one thing is sure -

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Paul Lister is prepared to do whatever it takes to turn his patch of Scotland wild again.

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The Highlands of Scotland look like the very essence of wildness -

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primeval and untouched.

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But these solitary trees

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are all that remain of a very different landscape.

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Centuries ago, these hills were cloaked

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in forests of Caledonian pine, but they've been stripped bare.

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With the timber gone, sheep took over the hills.

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They grazed out many of the fragile native plants,

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turning a once diverse landscape into a soggy desert.

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Even the heather is nothing but a glorified weed.

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It's hard to make a living here.

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Crofters have mostly gone, and the land is carved up

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between a number of large estates,

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these days devoted to hunting, shooting and fishing.

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It may look wild, but in fact, this landscape is heavily managed

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for the benefit of just three commercially prized animals -

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salmon, grouse and red deer.

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People think Scotland, or the Highlands in particular, are a beautiful place, beautiful scenery,

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and they're right, it does look great.

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But if you actually know something about the history,

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you'll realise just how much devastation has taken place

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over the centuries.

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There is a tantalising hint of what Scotland looked like 300 years ago

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in the remaining forests of northern and eastern Europe.

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Here, it's also possible to glimpse the animals that once lived in the Highlands,

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creatures which either died out once the trees were cut down or were hunted out.

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It's almost impossible to imagine moose in a glen,

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but long ago they would have been

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as much a part of the Scottish uplands as brown bears.

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Each animal, up to the top predator, would have played a vital role

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in keeping the woodland balanced and healthy.

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It was on a visit to Eastern Europe

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that businessman Paul Lister saw Scotland's potential.

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But it wasn't until 2003 that his fledgling idea could take off.

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Overnight, his fortunes changed,

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as he came into control of millions of pounds made by his father,

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the founder of the MFI flat-pack empire.

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Lister bought a 23,000-acre estate north of Inverness,

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where he set about challenging the centuries-old monopoly of land management.

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His base is the Alladale Lodge at the eastern end of his land.

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Like the surrounding sporting estates,

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there's grouse, thousands of red deer

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and the rivers are rich in salmon.

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But along the two glens which stretch west from the lodge,

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there is very little else.

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Paul wants to use his fortune to create a wilderness reserve,

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plant trees to join up the fragmented woodland

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and populate the two glens with moose, lynx, bear and wolf,

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creatures that were once common here.

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He thinks people would pay to come and see this restoration process happen

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and wants to prove that a rich and self-sustaining mix of native wildlife

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can make more money and provide more jobs than hunting and fishing.

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The area I'm looking at here is one of our richest parts of the reserve,

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and it just needs to have back

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the animals that were once living here hundreds of years ago

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to really make the place come alive.

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Trying to bring back Scotland's lost riches is not a new idea.

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For many decades, conservationists have discussed

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re-wilding parts of the Highlands, and a recent European directive

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encourages governments to do just this.

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Scotland has successfully reintroduced birds such as red kite and the sea eagle,

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but plans to bring back mammals have foundered,

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either because there isn't enough continuous forest

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to support these creatures, or because local people have objected.

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Although other European countries

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have successfully re-introduced mammals such as beaver, Scotland is lagging behind.

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Re-wilding has proved to be so complicated,

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it's not surprising many people look at Lister's ambitious plans

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with a mixture of admiration and disbelief.

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Well, I started by thinking he was a nutcase.

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But...I have to admire him for having a go.

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I mean, the SAS motto.

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He's put his purse

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where his mouth is and he is trying,

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and I admire that immensely.

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Paul is a furniture salesman not an ecologist,

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so he's buying in the best advice.

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At Alladale, there is the potential

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to do something radical, useful, important and well founded.

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The thought that there would be an owner of a Highland estate

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who is prepared to make the top priority of that estate

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the biodiversity gain and all that flows from it - the revenue generation and so forth -

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is quite wonderful, and we should rejoice in that.

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Paul's impatient to get the project off the ground,

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so as well as world-class expertise, he's found what he believes is the perfect blueprint for Alladale.

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There's nothing unique about what I'm proposing at Alladale.

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There's nothing unique.

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It's literally a plagiarisation of a success story from South Africa.

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Like the Highlands of Scotland, Shamwari Game Reserve was once overgrazed and impoverished land.

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The driving force behind its restoration is businessman Adrian Gardiner.

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10, 15 years ago, where we're driving now was farmland.

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This was all red soil, abused,

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overgrazed, degraded,

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absolutely ravaged.

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Over the years, successfully,

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we've created a whole ecosystem here,

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from a dung beetle to the elephant,

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so we've put back the rightful owners to this land.

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What's impressed Paul is that the animals have done all the hard work.

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To a large extent, we've let nature repair itself.

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If you put the right animals on this land,

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that helps repair it. That's nature.

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The similarities between what we're trying to do

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are actually closer than you think.

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The right animals in their original setting

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will go a long way to restoring the vegetation at Alladale, too.

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But at the start, they would have to be heavily managed.

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Paul and his rangers will have to learn how to monitor,

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dart and move grazers to help the restoration process along.

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This is a very popular dart gun,

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so you'll most probably use this dart system at Alladale.

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-So, the dart is in there.

-Oh, yes.

-Quite simple.

-Yeah, very.

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OK, if you get a nice view of the rhino...

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The one at the back now. Back left.

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Today, they are going to dart a young rhino so they can clip an identifying mark on her ear.

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In a few years' time, Paul could be darting moose or bear at Alladale.

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On the shoulder if you get...

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Perfect. And it went in.

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'Tony, they've just gone into the open now.'

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So far so good. Very slick operation.

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Yeah, they've gone into the middle of a nice big open area.

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They only have a short time before the rhino is conscious again.

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The vet makes a painless notch in her ear and then injects a stimulant to bring the rhino round.

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No, it's fine.

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Wow. He was up quick.

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In every healthy ecosystem, grazers are only part of the story.

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Without predators, the grazers would overpopulate the reserve and eat out the vegetation all over again.

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Shamwari needs big cats

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just as Alladale needs wolves, lynx and bear.

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People have a long-held mistrust of predators, so many locals

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were outraged when Gardiner welcomed lions and hyenas back.

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My neighbours here were absolutely up in arms.

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I can remember going to a meeting where one of the neighbours stood up

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and he said to me, "My grandfather shot the last brown hyena here."

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I said, "Well, I'm going to bring it back."

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To keep the neighbours happy and to protect his precious animals,

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Gardiner has built a fence around his 60,000 acres.

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Paul will do the same at Alladale but, even so,

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Gardiner thinks he will face a lot of resistance to his plans.

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His challenges are going to be more than ours were.

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We had a lot of neighbours who didn't want to accept what we were gonna do, and there were struggles.

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But all struggles are worth fighting for.

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I really hope that I will see the bear and the wolf back.

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Oh, you will, you will!

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For sure!

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Paul is convinced the Shamwari model will work in the Highlands.

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People say to me, "We're living in another part of the world."

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Yes, there are different parameters,

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but it's the same principle of taking over land

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which has been ravaged by man and investing in it

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and bringing back the species that belong there.

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Paul is impatient to see wolves and bear on his reserve

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but, like Shamwari, he needs to start with the basics.

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He has native grazers, but red deer are the very core of the problem.

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Scotland has way too many of them.

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Even Scottish Natural Heritage agrees that native trees and plants

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don't stand a chance while deer numbers remain so high.

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In any other setting, they'd be called a pest.

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With no native predators to control them, red deer numbers have increased steadily for decades.

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Despite a threefold increase in culling since the 1970s, deer numbers are still on the rise.

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In the interests of natural regeneration,

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Alladale has halved its deer population over ten years.

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The process of lowering numbers goes on every year.

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Throughout the season, they cull the lesser-valued hinds.

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The challenge is to get close enough for a shot.

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I'm not some bloodthirsty killer, like.

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It's a job that we have to do and that's it, you know?

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Just get on with it.

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Deer culling is something Innes and David have always had to do.

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But now they feel there's a goal at the end of it.

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-It's quite a good plan, you know.

-If we get the acreage,

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this thing can work and create a lot more employment,

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and it would be quite a unique concept, you know?

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We're watching the project develop, you know? We're making it happen.

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So bring it on.

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Once the deer are under control,

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the 80,000 saplings which Paul has planted in the valley bottoms will have a chance of reaching maturity.

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Paul already has some stands

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of old-growth Caledonian pine on the reserve.

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But to provide food and cover for forest animals, he needs more.

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Pines need very specific growing conditions,

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so Paul has turned to a very specific animal.

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The arrival of a group of boar means his dream of regenerating

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this patch of the Highlands has already begun.

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Boars are walking rotavators.

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As they root around, they break up the blanket of heather and bracken,

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turn over the soil and create a perfect seedbed for pine kernels.

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-Where's the big fellow?

-Here he is.

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400 years ago, boar were common in Scotland.

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He is big, isn't he?

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This is the first time anyone has studied what their return would do to the landscape.

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Paul's estate manager, Hugh Fullerton-Smith,

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is the man in charge of the operation.

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When this opportunity arose, it kind of really intrigued me that somebody

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could be trying to set up a genuine wilderness reserve in the UK.

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It's quite powerful stuff, really, this whole re-wilding concept,

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and I think it's long overdue,

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from what I've seen in 12 months. It's perfect.

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And after a while, I think you suddenly realise

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that you're quite privileged to be here.

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There's probably 100 years' work here.

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Paul knows re-wilding takes time.

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But he's also a businessman who needs results.

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He wants to fast-forward to the next animal on his wish list -

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moose, or European elk, as they are officially known.

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Unlike red deer, these eight-foot giants won't decimate the ground vegetation.

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They browse on willows and birch.

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They've been absent from Scotland for over 2,000 years.

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But Paul thinks that if he had some at Alladale, they would start drawing the public in.

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But shopping for them is harder than he thought.

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I've found moose, but the Swedish government

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have banned the capture of wild moose, so we've had to go to parks.

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But they're terribly expensive.

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I think with all the vet testing

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and all the clearances to import them into Scotland,

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it will be about £17,000 for four animals.

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Paul decides to get on a plane and look for some himself.

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He wants young moose that will be able to grow up as wild as possible.

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At a moose breeder's, he tracks down two females who are about to give birth.

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Helga, Scottish visitors!

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Er, English visitor.

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English? Oh, sorry!

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British visitor.

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They're amazing, aren't they? I've never been this close to a moose.

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Here comes the boss. She is called Landa.

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This one here?

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She even beats up the bull if she has to,

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she just presses down the head and then she knees them.

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-Can you get in there with them?

-We will go in, everyone.

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-They are very, very tame.

-We're gonna go in there?

-Yes, of course.

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-This is the bigger bull.

-They make horses look small.

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-Look at that!

-There you go.

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There you go. You like that one, boy.

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I need two females and a male. Young ones.

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Well, let's have a contact and see what happens when their babies come.

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Paul calls Alladale with the good news.

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I think I'd better do a deal with him.

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Anyway, this might just be the niche.

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He's got a home for two of the babies,

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but not the other three or four.

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Erm, and I suspect we just need three at the most.

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Moose from Sweden would be a crowd puller.

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But Paul needs a mix of animals on the reserve.

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Every animal has its part to play, and the more animals

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we bring back to Alladale, the less we'll have to manage things,

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the less we'll have to go round planting trees and shooting deer

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and we can let animals play their part.

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Encouraging small animals back to Alladale is as important as the large ones.

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Small birds and mammals help to distribute seeds

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and would provide food for carnivores such as lynx and eagles.

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But the animal that's key to restoring the balance of the Highlands is the wolf.

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It's also the animal with the biggest reputation.

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Even a huge national park like Yellowstone in the US

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courted controversy when they brought this particular carnivore back.

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Oh, it was very heated. I've had death threats, and I think people on the other side did too, probably.

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So it's a very emotional issue, very polarised.

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I've had hundreds of guys come up to me at meetings and tell me,

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"My dad, my grandad killed the last wolf in this valley,

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"this river system, this county, this state." They're very proud of that.

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And so, emotionally, it's a big deal out West,

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where the last wolves were killed only 70 or 80 years ago.

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For many people, that's not long enough to begin to love an animal

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that was once so hated.

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Fear of wolves runs deep,

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but it's a fear that's unfounded.

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Wolves have attacked people a few times in North America,

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but in the past 400 years,

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a wild wolf has never killed a person in North America.

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Some day it might happen, but of all the things you have to worry about,

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wolves are probably just below ground squirrels.

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Wolves are not a serious threat to people.

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What's more, wolves are useful.

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They've done a sterling job in Yellowstone of keeping destructive grazing animals in check,

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so much so that top British scientists have studied

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whether wolves could do the same for the spiralling number of Highland deer.

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The science we need to know is

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what are the likely consequences if we take a species like a wolf

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and reintroduce it into parts of Scotland?

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Our predictions were that, eventually, after about 60 years,

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deer numbers would come down to probably somewhere between a quarter or a third on where they are now

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and the wolf population would plateau in the Highlands

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at somewhere between 300-500 wolves.

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Eventually, predator and prey find a natural balance,

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and that can only be good for the whole landscape.

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Paul's ideas are based on sound science,

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but there haven't been wolves in Britain since the 1740s,

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and the mere mention of them creates panic.

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Paul thinks the media are just scaremongering.

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I was in Sweden the other week. There are 300 or 400 wolves.

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You don't read horror stories of people being eaten by wolves and bears in Europe.

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It's just nonsense, and it's about time people woke up to that fact.

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It's about time stories like Little Red Riding Hood were put into context

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and people understood that wolves are absolutely terrified of man.

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Hill farmers still worry that their livestock might be at risk.

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To allay local concerns, Lister has always made it clear

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that he intends to build a fence around his entire property.

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The scare stories are a constant frustration.

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It is a misrepresentation to imagine

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that creating a large, fenced, park-like wilderness area

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is the same thing as liberating, unfenced, these animals

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into the freedom of the countryside.

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I've seen press coverage which has suggested a confusion

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between those two, which is a pretty silly confusion.

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I mean, most people can understand "fence".

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There's already a 500-acre enclosure for the boar,

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and there are plenty of safety measures to protect people from what's inside.

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We've got a dangerous wild animal licence now,

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so it's our job to protect the public from these animals

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and to protect the animals from the public, as well!

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But Hugh finds himself in a legal paradox.

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The laws protecting the public are at odds with the laws guaranteeing public access in Scotland.

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Something really strange has happened

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from the same office that issued the dangerous wild animals licence.

0:28:450:28:48

The Highland Access Officer now insists that the public can have access to this enclosure.

0:28:480:28:54

So we've got a pretty strange thing going on here.

0:28:540:28:58

Worryingly, the legal farce surrounding the pig pen

0:29:000:29:03

has huge implications for the whole project.

0:29:030:29:07

The 50-mile fence which Paul had planned to build around Alladale,

0:29:110:29:15

three metres high, specially designed and costing £2 million,

0:29:150:29:20

would effectively seal off his estate from the rest of the Highlands.

0:29:200:29:25

This has enraged people who fought for one of the very first Acts of the new Scottish Parliament -

0:29:280:29:34

an enforceable right to roam.

0:29:340:29:36

Ramblers and climbers aren't up in arms over the wolves.

0:29:360:29:40

It's the fence.

0:29:400:29:43

To keep these animals in place, if you like,

0:29:430:29:46

he wants to build a fence, electrified,

0:29:460:29:50

to create a massive enclosure

0:29:500:29:52

for these animals.

0:29:520:29:53

Now, one, that's not re-wilding,

0:29:530:29:56

that's creating a zoo. And two,

0:29:560:29:59

People like myself and many, many others have fought for generations

0:29:590:30:03

for this Land Reform Act, the legislation that we now have in Scotland.

0:30:030:30:08

And for somebody to helicopter into an area like Alladale and say,

0:30:080:30:11

"I'm gonna build this great big fence and to hell with your Land Reform Act, I don't care about your access,

0:30:110:30:16

"I want to keep people out and my animals in."

0:30:160:30:19

That attitude I find morally repugnant.

0:30:190:30:22

The fence has become very divisive.

0:30:250:30:27

What Paul thought would be the solution

0:30:290:30:31

to people's fear of wild animals is becoming his biggest problem.

0:30:310:30:35

There are some people who don't want to see any fences,

0:30:370:30:40

and there are other people who don't want a fence

0:30:400:30:43

because they don't want to be stopped walking on that side.

0:30:430:30:47

I worry that because of the access legislation,

0:30:470:30:51

it may be impossible

0:30:510:30:53

to do this experiment, and I would be very sad about that.

0:30:530:30:57

I think that we need places for nature.

0:30:570:31:00

I don't see why humans have to go everywhere.

0:31:000:31:02

Even though Alladale is becoming embroiled in access issues,

0:31:040:31:07

they still have to get on with managing the animals that are already penned up here.

0:31:070:31:12

At least Hugh is making progress with the boar.

0:31:120:31:15

Yesterday, we put radio tracking collars on seven of the boar.

0:31:320:31:37

It's really going along nicely, so the pigs are going really well.

0:31:370:31:43

The radio collars will help Chris, who's in charge of the boar research, to work out

0:31:430:31:49

how much land each pig needs.

0:31:490:31:52

This becomes particularly important when, in early summer,

0:31:540:31:58

the enclosure welcomes new arrivals.

0:31:580:32:01

These are the first animals to be born at Alladale and the first that will be brought up in the wild.

0:32:050:32:12

Now that the boar seem well established,

0:32:180:32:20

it's time for Hugh to organise the next stage of the project.

0:32:200:32:24

We're definitely going ahead with an import of elk on September 15th.

0:32:270:32:33

Just going to bring a bull and two young females.

0:32:330:32:37

So that's pretty exciting.

0:32:370:32:38

The re-wilding will happen here, no doubt about that.

0:32:410:32:44

It's just the timing of us establishing this big reserve,

0:32:440:32:49

because the complexities of doing it have probably escaped Paul a little.

0:32:490:32:54

Paul has overlooked a fundamental issue.

0:32:580:33:00

In the eyes of the law, a fence around his reserve

0:33:020:33:05

would change the nature of the Alladale project.

0:33:050:33:08

We in Scottish Natural Heritage are remitted and interested in wildlife when it's in the wild.

0:33:130:33:18

When you put a fence around an area,

0:33:180:33:21

technically and legally, it's not then in the wild.

0:33:210:33:26

I think the development at Alladale would need then to be covered by the zoo legislation.

0:33:260:33:30

As I understand it, there would be issues about animal welfare,

0:33:300:33:34

the survival and wellbeing of individual animals

0:33:340:33:37

as part of what happens inside this enclosed area.

0:33:370:33:40

Alladale is huge but, if it's classed as a zoo,

0:33:410:33:45

it would then be illegal to put a predator and its prey in the same enclosed space.

0:33:450:33:52

And THIS would completely undermine Paul's grand plan.

0:33:530:33:59

If the Highlands are to be properly restored, he thinks it's vital for all the animals to live together.

0:33:590:34:05

It's the wolves that will keep the deer away from the valley bottoms,

0:34:070:34:12

where the rivers are, where we need vegetation.

0:34:120:34:15

We don't have that any more up here.

0:34:150:34:18

It's important spawning grounds for the salmon.

0:34:180:34:21

For the whole cycle of life, it's very important to have as many

0:34:210:34:25

of the creatures back that were once here.

0:34:250:34:28

Although this is encouraged by EU legislation,

0:34:280:34:31

national laws are threatening to stop his ambitious re-wilding scheme in its tracks.

0:34:310:34:37

There's a clash of legislation here.

0:34:380:34:41

Article 22 of the EU Habitats Directive

0:34:410:34:44

encourages people to go through species and habitat restoration,

0:34:440:34:48

That means that you have an ambition to get wolves and bear and lynx back into Scotland.

0:34:480:34:53

The Zoo Act basically prevents that happening

0:34:530:34:56

by saying you cannot have predator and prey in the same enclosure,

0:34:560:34:59

which basically flies in the face of this whole proposal.

0:34:590:35:02

We have managed to surround ourselves in so much red tape

0:35:040:35:08

with regard to things that you can and cannot do.

0:35:080:35:12

We're not a zoo, we're not a Longleat, we're not a private collection of animals. What are we?

0:35:120:35:18

Well, we are a wilderness reserve.

0:35:180:35:20

We are like a nature reserve with a fence around it.

0:35:200:35:24

So there isn't a box for us.

0:35:240:35:26

Perhaps the only way forward is to challenge the legislation

0:35:310:35:35

and make his reserve much, much larger.

0:35:350:35:39

No-one quite knows how big it should be, but everyone agrees that its current size is too limiting.

0:35:410:35:48

It's undoubtedly too small.

0:35:500:35:52

The original thought was it needed 50,000 acres.

0:35:520:35:57

If you had less than 50,000 acres,

0:35:570:35:59

then you would say that the...

0:35:590:36:02

deer are too much at a disadvantage

0:36:020:36:05

against fence lines for the wolves.

0:36:050:36:09

So you can't do that.

0:36:090:36:11

It has to be big.

0:36:110:36:13

Even the trial boar enclosure may be too small.

0:36:170:36:21

The pigs are doing a great job breaking up the bracken and heather,

0:36:210:36:25

but the roots of one of the old-growth pine trees

0:36:250:36:29

have been damaged in the process,

0:36:290:36:31

proof that there's still lots to learn

0:36:310:36:34

about even the basics of Highland restoration.

0:36:340:36:38

In August, there's an unexpected setback.

0:36:450:36:48

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth has been confirmed in England,

0:36:480:36:51

and the Government, nervous of an epidemic, has put a blanket ban

0:36:510:36:55

on all movements of livestock.

0:36:550:36:58

I'll call the Swedish Trades Council.

0:36:580:37:02

Hugh has to cancel the import of the moose.

0:37:020:37:05

They're going to really stick this one out,

0:37:050:37:07

cos they got so much egg on their face last time letting any movements take place at all.

0:37:070:37:11

They're absolutely paranoid.

0:37:110:37:13

Good old foot-and-mouth has erupted again.

0:37:150:37:17

Looks like the second case will be confirmed today.

0:37:170:37:21

There's no real ban on importing stock, you just can't move them once they get to England.

0:37:210:37:26

So we have to wait for the ban to be lifted before we can begin the import.

0:37:260:37:31

Nothing like Alladale has been attempted in Britain before,

0:37:360:37:40

so right from the start, Paul's had to come to terms with setbacks as well as missed opportunities.

0:37:400:37:47

At the very beginning, he had a chance to buy the next-door estate.

0:37:470:37:51

That was more money, but my view is,

0:37:510:37:54

if you're very wealthy and you buy an estate, you're not losing money.

0:37:540:37:58

You can always sell it again sometime.

0:37:580:38:01

If that other estate had been bought then, that would have made it easier.

0:38:010:38:05

Paul now has to either wait for adjoining land to come on the market

0:38:070:38:12

or encourage his neighbours, who all run sporting estates,

0:38:120:38:15

to come on board.

0:38:150:38:16

A group of Highland estates with the same vision would create enough space for re-wilding.

0:38:180:38:22

But there's a lot of persuading to do.

0:38:240:38:27

I wouldn't want the fences.

0:38:270:38:31

It's not possible without the fences.

0:38:310:38:33

But I wouldn't want it here.

0:38:330:38:34

But I admire him for having a go.

0:38:340:38:37

My own opinion is it needs nearer a

0:38:370:38:39

quarter-million acres than 25,000,

0:38:390:38:42

and then I think he might be getting somewhere.

0:38:420:38:46

There are some problems, not least with the fencing...

0:38:470:38:52

..both in extremely bad weather in the winter,

0:38:540:38:57

and also on the human side,

0:38:570:39:00

with the antis and vandals cutting in.

0:39:000:39:03

And then, if you have a lot of wolves or bears escape, well, erm,

0:39:030:39:07

it would make life interesting!

0:39:070:39:10

You know, before he came along,

0:39:100:39:13

there was just the traditional sporting estate and the crofters.

0:39:130:39:17

To keep people in the Highlands,

0:39:170:39:21

you've got to keep trying new things.

0:39:210:39:24

As Jonny has said, good on you for having a go.

0:39:240:39:28

It's creating a lot of jobs, and it might be right.

0:39:280:39:31

Like a lot of people who have a vision, it's never simple, is it?

0:39:350:39:41

How many people have had ideas that have really required a lot of energy,

0:39:410:39:45

effort, communication and support?

0:39:450:39:48

What has to happen is that people have to start to appreciate

0:39:490:39:53

and believe and trust

0:39:530:39:55

in what we're trying to achieve.

0:39:550:39:57

By September, with the moose importation still on hold,

0:39:590:40:02

Paul flies to the other side of the world

0:40:020:40:05

for a much-needed dose of inspiration and support.

0:40:050:40:09

This is part of the biggest re-wilding project on the planet,

0:40:150:40:19

100 times larger than Alladale.

0:40:190:40:22

Just like the Highlands, this part of Argentina was once in a mess,

0:40:220:40:29

former cattle ranches that were badly overgrazed.

0:40:290:40:33

Paul has come to see Kris and Doug Tompkins, who have sunk their time, energy and considerable fortune

0:40:340:40:41

into allowing large areas within Argentina and Chile to regenerate.

0:40:410:40:46

The first in a long line of native species they hope to reintroduce is the giant anteater.

0:40:480:40:54

We have a whole quarantine centre

0:40:570:40:59

that we've built on the other side of the wetlands.

0:40:590:41:03

Now we have a male in this pen and a female in the other one.

0:41:030:41:09

In three weeks' time, we're gonna let them go -

0:41:090:41:11

they'll be released as a pair.

0:41:110:41:13

Our goal was to release seven this year. So it's slow going, you know?

0:41:150:41:20

You'd love to release 50, but this is the first formal reintroduction

0:41:200:41:24

of a species in Argentina,

0:41:240:41:26

so we wanted to act as a model

0:41:260:41:29

for this kind of work for the future.

0:41:290:41:31

Like Paul, the Tompkins have had to learn by trial and error.

0:41:340:41:39

They've had setbacks, but they've soldiered on, firm in the belief

0:41:410:41:44

that turning the land wild is the best thing to do.

0:41:440:41:48

Look at this southern screamer with its chicks.

0:41:520:41:55

I think people tend to protect those things they love

0:41:570:42:01

and the things that are meaningful to them,

0:42:010:42:05

and that, in this case, is wildness for us.

0:42:050:42:09

Doug and Kris made their money from the outdoor-clothing companies

0:42:140:42:19

Esprit, Patagonia and North Face.

0:42:190:42:22

It allowed them to buy 2.2 million acres of degraded land.

0:42:220:42:26

But once the re-wilding is complete,

0:42:280:42:31

they intend to gift large areas of land back to the government so that they can be run as national parks.

0:42:310:42:37

If you're in conservation work, it's an endless job.

0:42:400:42:44

It'll never be finished.

0:42:440:42:46

You would like to live for ever and keep doing it cos it's fascinating

0:42:460:42:51

and very satisfying,

0:42:510:42:54

especially restoration work, which we do a lot of,

0:42:540:42:57

damaged landscapes.

0:42:570:42:59

I think you have to get possessive.

0:43:000:43:03

Paul maybe is possessed by this too,

0:43:030:43:06

that wildness is the thing to go for.

0:43:060:43:09

It's inspirational, really, for me to come down here and meet the Tompkins.

0:43:110:43:15

What they're doing is great.

0:43:150:43:17

It's places like this that I get inspiration from.

0:43:170:43:21

But the real challenge now is to get more neighbours and landowners

0:43:210:43:25

and acquire more land and ultimately get the large carnivores back.

0:43:250:43:30

That's the real challenge - to get the land, and I'm hopeful.

0:43:300:43:34

In the autumn, Paul hears rumours that a neighbouring estate of 37,000 acres is up for sale.

0:43:370:43:44

If he can secure a deal,

0:43:460:43:48

he would have enough land to realise his dreams.

0:43:480:43:51

There's more good news in November.

0:43:520:43:56

The two young moose are finally on their way from Sweden.

0:43:560:43:59

We planned to import these animals in September.

0:44:030:44:06

Along came foot-and-mouth disease, which put a spanner in the works,

0:44:060:44:10

followed hot on the heels by bluetongue.

0:44:100:44:13

That meant that we couldn't come into the port that we chose, near Grimsby, and so we've been waiting

0:44:130:44:19

for them to remove the restrictions,

0:44:190:44:21

which they haven't done on the bluetongue.

0:44:210:44:24

So we managed to solve everything by chartering a plane in Inverness,

0:44:240:44:28

and we can fly direct to Umea

0:44:280:44:31

and straight back to Inverness, which is just going to be amazing.

0:44:310:44:35

Beautiful, aren't they?

0:45:120:45:13

Moose have been absent from the Highlands for over 2,000 years.

0:45:220:45:27

But these two appear to fit right back in.

0:45:270:45:30

Every animal plays a part, and it's just like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

0:45:350:45:40

Having two elk back, it's just another piece back in the jigsaw.

0:45:400:45:46

For the time being, they're in an enclosure but, eventually, they'll have the run of the reserve.

0:45:490:45:55

It's taken four years and millions of pounds

0:46:050:46:08

just to get boar and moose back onto his land.

0:46:080:46:12

Many have criticised Paul's approach, but he's the only person

0:46:130:46:17

bold enough to take on the problems,

0:46:170:46:20

the doubters and the red tape.

0:46:200:46:23

And despite all the odds, he remains determined to create

0:46:230:46:27

the first wilderness reserve in Britain.

0:46:270:46:29

Maybe it takes a maverick to move the boundaries

0:46:360:46:39

and wake people up to the urgency and importance of re-wilding.

0:46:390:46:44

I believe we should encourage the likes of Paul Lister.

0:46:450:46:48

What he's trying to do is ambitious.

0:46:480:46:50

I don't know whether it will succeed,

0:46:500:46:53

but I think it contributes substantially to the debate.

0:46:530:46:57

So if people are trying to re-wild areas within an enclosed area

0:46:570:47:02

and we collect scientific information about the way the ecosystem changes,

0:47:020:47:06

that's a very valuable contribution to this debate about the use of our countryside

0:47:060:47:11

and about ways in which we can help conserve some of these species.

0:47:110:47:14

However, there are many people who still think Paul is misguided.

0:47:200:47:25

Paul has seen what's happened in Africa.

0:47:250:47:28

He's thought this could happen in Scotland. I would say it can't.

0:47:280:47:32

Although I fully understand the view that says this simply can't happen,

0:47:360:47:42

it's too big an ask, I don't believe it.

0:47:420:47:45

There's always going to be people out there that go, "This isn't gonna work.

0:47:490:47:54

"He's a crackpot."

0:47:540:47:57

But as long as the majority of people can see what we're trying to achieve,

0:47:570:48:02

then it will happen. Totally, it will happen.

0:48:020:48:06

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