ACTION is needed to secure the long-term future of the critically-endangered wildcat in Scotland.

Research published by NatureScot appears to show that, to establish a sustainable population of wildcats, a number of actions are needed, to work alongside releases of wildcats, for population reinforcement. These include reducing the threat of hybridisation with domestic cats and hybrids, improving the habitats wildcats use, and reducing deaths from disease, persecution and road traffic accidents.

Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the suite of nine technical reports and a summary report presents all of the work completed by Scottish Wildcat Action, a multi-partner project led by NatureScot, which ran from 2015-2020.

The project was able to show that there were too few wildcats for their populations to be sustainable in the short or long term.

Scottish Wildcat Action’s work has been used to inform the design of a next phase of work, Saving Wildcats, led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) in collaboration with NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Nordens Ark and Junta de Andalucía, with releases conducted with the support of Cairngorms Connect. Saving Wildcats aims to prevent the extinction of wildcats in Scotland by breeding and releasing them into the wild and is supported by the LIFE programme of the European Union. The team are currently preparing for the first in a series of trial releases of wildcats in the Cairngorms National Park this summer.

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said: “The Scottish wildcat is an iconic and much loved native species, and yet its very existence is under threat.

“This research from Scottish Wildcat Action will be critical in informing future decisions on how we can revive numbers throughout the country and safeguard the population in the future.

"Reversing the dramatic losses in nature that we have seen in recent times is one of the defining challenges that our country faces. The Scottish Government remains committed to this fight and is actively working towards protecting and restoring our natural environment.”

Dr Roo Campbell, NatureScot’s Mammal Adviser and report author, explained: “The Saving Wildcats project represents a vital phase in restoring the wildcat in Scotland, but this is not the final step on the journey, we’re still at the beginning.

“To succeed, wildcat conservation in Scotland next needs a nationwide effort with long-term commitments from all stakeholders over the coming decades. Improvements to habitats and reduction in risks, such as those from land management practices, will help ensure future wildcat populations remain viable. But a key part of this will also be removing the threat of hybridisation. This includes continuing efforts to neuter pet domestic cats, feral domestic cats and obvious hybrids. This report highlights that changes to legislation to ensure pets are microchipped and neutered would also significantly reduce this threat, and so we would like to work with stakeholders to see what can be achieved to help save the wildcat.

“The ultimate goal must be to establish a population of wildcats that does not need further human intervention to secure its survival. We’re hopeful that we can achieve this by working together now to protect and restore this iconic species for generations to come.”