Scottish Wild Cat

The Scottish Wild Cat is under such threat that measures will have to be taken to ensure its survival as a pure bred animal. There are probably fewer than 1000 pure bred animals left in the wild. The wild cat died out in the rest of the UK before the end of the 19th century. The wild cat is meeting the same fate as the wolf, lynx and the European bear. Its habitat has almost been completely destroyed and it is being persecuted and shot by gamekeepers.

Now it is finally being threatened by hybridisation with feral domesticated cats. The wild cat is choosing to mate with an introduced subspecies to ensure the survival of some of  its unique genes. This is the best it can do for itself.

There are a number of lessons to be learnt here.


The wild cat will only survive in Scotland if it has sufficient territory to allow it to roam freely without encountering too many fellow members of the same species - the domesticated cat. Humans will have to refrain from trapping or killing them when they hunt on grouse and partridge moors reserved by humans for shooting game.

We have been foolish to regard the domesticated cat as being a completely different species to the wild cat. Both types of cat freely interbreed and produce viable and fertile offspring. They should both really be regarded  as subspecies of Felis Sylvestris. In this way it would have been easier to convince pet owners to neuter their cats to prevent the dilution of the gene pool of the wild cat.

Measures are going to be taken to reduce the numbers of domestic and wild cat hybrids. This measure should be carefully considered as we could eliminate wild cat genes altogether if we destroy the population of crosses at the same time as failing to save the pure bred wild cat.

It is possibly too late to save the pure bred wild cat as its natural habitat has disappeared. The cat itself does not discriminate on the grounds of appearance but finds a mate on the basis of smell and sound and feral cats fit the bill to ensure the survival of some of the wild cat genes. The wild cat hybrid has also probably picked up a few tricks on how to survive, in the presence of man, from its feral cat cousins. It may be a better solution to let some of the hybrids survive.

If we want our wildlife to thrive we need to change our attitude. We should not regard other animals and plants, for that matter, as just possessions.  A dog is a subspecies of the wolf  and a domesticated cat is a subspecies of the wild cat. Dogs and cats are faithful pets but they are perfectly capable of reverting back to the wild state and live independently of humans.

We cannot isolate our pets or domesticated animals from the rest of nature by naming them as separate species from their wild ancestors. Nature does not work like that. The hybridisation of the wild cat is a perfect example of the influence of mankind on the rest of nature and what can go wrong.

It is ironic that we have persecuted the wolf and the wild cat because they are subspecies which we have been unable to tame and somehow we see them as threatening our economic interests. The wolf has been demonised as an animal which hunts and kills humans even though there are few verified claims that this has ever happened. The domestic dog is probably more of a danger to humans and their livestock than a wild wolf has ever been. But the wolf does not belong to us and avoids us so it is fit only to be persecuted.

The wolf is making a  small comeback in the Mercantour National park in France but because it has killed some sheep there is talk of shooting it again. Why not leave it alone to thrive for a while? Human Beings can still live well even if the wolf takes a few of our sheep. There will never be many wolves surviving in Western Europe  again - unless Human Beings die out.

The same principle applies to the wild cat - so why not help protect some of their natural habitat and leave them alone to survive even if they take some grouse and partridges? They will never return in large numbers but if they are given enough space they will not need to consort with their domestic cousins. We need to at least try this. I fear that this is too much to hope for. The pure bred wild cat is now probably doomed in Britain.


http://www.scottishwildcats.co.uk/

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbqsro_mike-tomkies-2009-interview-for-sco_animals

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkilr2_warning-of-extinction-threat-to-british-wildlife_news

Egypt

The events in Cairo and other Egyptian cities confirm my pessimism about what is happening to a state that is struggling to become a true democracy.

There is no justification for the military government to shoot its citizens when they are asserting their rights to peaceful protest.

No democratically elected or approved head of state should ever be overthrown and imprisoned without first being impeached and put on trial under a fair judicial and democratically approved process. It is no wonder that the supporters of the former President  Morsi are angry. It is to be hoped that they do not turn to violence to register their discontent. It is to be hoped that the former president is not subjected to physical harm.

Like it or not, Morsi was elected by a majority of the Egyptian people so the only way he should have been replaced was by another election or legal and constitutional impeachment. His election was seen to be fair by the international community.

Western governments seem unable to produce a coherent response to what is essentially a military coup. Surely, the response should be simple: military and financial aid should be cut off until a constitutional democracy is restored. The only aid which Egypt should now receive should be humanitarian.

What is wrong with Western Democracies asserting their values? A state should be run by a democratically elected parliament and/or head of state which assures the rights of all citizens to non-violent free assembly and freedom of speech. The state should protect the legitimate political, social and economic interest of all its minorities and it should protect the freedom of worship and the freedom to be an atheist or an agnostic. No-one should be jailed without a fair trial.

These principles have allowed true democracies to flourish.

With regard to foreign policy, no nation should interfere in the domestic affairs of another state without the specific approval of the United Nations and only then under extreme circumstances when international law has been violated.

Some peoples and their states may freely wish to have a theocracy or even military rule or an absolute monarch or dictator. There is nothing to stop us having diplomatic relations with such states or trade with them but provided that they adhere to international law. We do not have to subsidise them, however, or give them military aid.

When they become true secular democracies we should give them all the aid necessary to ensure the continuance of democratic values. This would help to ensure that the West is given full support by the people of the emerging democracies. Supporting military regimes and dictators wherever they are is self-defeating.