Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser has lodged a Parliamentary motion on the conservation of the Scottish Wildcat.
In the year of Natural Scotland, Murdo believes that the Scottish Government should increase their efforts to protect this iconic Scottish species. The Cairngorm Wildcat Project ended in 2012 with a reported 150 breeding pairs still left in the wild; however, a follow up plan is yet to be announced.
The motion enclosed below,
That the Parliament believes that the moves to help save the Scottish wildcat, which is endangered, should be stepped up; considers that, in the year of Natural Scotland, a priority must be placed on saving a species that, it understands, has been in Scotland for 9,000 years; praises the work of conservation groups, such as the Wildcat Haven project in Lochaber and the Highland Wildlife Park; urges the Scottish Government to sponsor a follow-on plan from the Cairngorms Wildcat Project; praises what it sees as the work of Scottish Wildcat Association in helping to preserve the species through various volunteer programmes, and believes that cloning could hold the key to saving one of Scotland’s most beloved species.
Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said:
“In the year of Natural Scotland it is very important that the Scottish Government increase their efforts to save this endangered species.
“Cloning may sound far-fetched but a leading scientist involved in the Dolly the sheep project has given his backing to possible wildcat cloning as have the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
“The Scottish Wildcat has a special place in the hearts of Highland Perthshire residents and thousands of visitors are drawn annually to the Highland Wildlife Park to watch it in action.”