IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Hetherington, D.; Campbell, R. | |
| The Cairngorms Wildcat Project | |
| 2012 Full Book | |
The Cairngorms Wildcat Project was a practical trial of targeted conservation actions for the Scottish wildcat. The Project was a partnership between the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). The project was informed by a stakeholder conference in 2008, was officially launched in May 2009, and ran until March 2012. It was largely funded by SNH under the Species Action Framework and by additional funds generated through the Highland Tiger appeal. The actions of the Project fall into 4 main headings. These are: 1. Raising awareness of wildcats and their conservation 2. Neutering domestic cats 3. Working with estates 4. Researching and monitoring wildcats Raising awareness of wildcats and their conservation - A key feature of the Project was the use of the 'Highland Tiger' awareness-raising brand to communicate to a wide audience the species' rarity and the actions they could take to help conserve it. The project established a website (www.highlandtiger.com), as well as other internet resources and promotional materials, and stimulated much coverage in the print and broadcast media. Many educational talks were delivered at a local level and included targeted presentations to key audiences such as farmers and gamekeepers. Neutering domestic cats - The Project sought to develop a close working relationship with the cat welfare charity Cats Protection in order to co-ordinate the promotion and delivery of neutering and vaccination of domestic and feral cats within the CNP. This element of the Project relied on volunteer effort and collaboration with local veterinary practices, who collated available data on the number of animals treated locally. The Project also sought to raise awareness of responsible domestic cat ownership in the Park, by delivering talks and through the production of a leaflet which was made widely available. Working with estates - The Project worked with the gamekeeping community to establish a practical protocol for their feral cat control activities that minimised the risks of harming wildcats. The protocol included: A practical, but precautionary, set of criteria which helps identify a wildcat in the field, i.e. a tabby-marked cat with a thick, ringed, blunt tail; a dorsal stripe which does not extend onto the tail; and no white feet; Promoting methods of control which endeavour to avoid harm to wildcats, i.e. cage trapping; Advice on what action to take if a wildcat is accidentally caught; Guidance on the humane treatment of feral or domestic cats. Five estates participated in the Project by adopting the protocol and reporting on their feral cat control activities and any wildcat sightings. 5 Research and monitoring wildcats - Intensive camera trap monitoring was adopted by the Project to obtain baseline and trend data on wildcat and feral cat presence on the five participating estates. In addition, the Project collated the results of opportunistic camera trapping, sightings records by the public, and the recovery of wild-living cat carcasses for analysis. |
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