Wildcats or wind farms
Competing environmental priorities in rural Scotland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8905450 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anthony Good (0000-0001-9711-3623, Weatherford College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Pages | 121-134 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Civilisations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8140 • E-ISSN: 2032-0442 |
| Publisher | OpenEdition (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4000/15j2l |
| OpenAlex | W7124988938 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
The Scottish wildcat is an ecologically and culturally significant animal. Though a protected species it is under severe threat, not least from hybridisation with domestic cats, and many experts believe it to be ‘functionally extinct’. This article1 explores the disagreements between those advocating in situ conservation by creating protected natural habitats, and those who favour ex situ conservation through the government-supported breeding-and-release programme. It also focuses on a planning inquiry into a proposed windfarm in Clashindarroch, a commercial forest in Aberdeenshire, said by some to be the last wildcat stronghold. The text highlights the complexities of such planning processes and shows how the relative weights and priorities given to the ‘nature crisis’ and ‘climate crisis’ have changed as a result of Scottish Government policies that increasingly favour renewable sources of energy and the achievement of net-zero targets
Energy policy · Government (linguistics · Natural (archaeology · Natural resource · Renewable energy · Wind power · Environmental Philosophy and Ethics · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Human-Animal Interaction Studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |