Your Cat - Last chance for Scottish wildcat

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Last chance for Scottish wildcat

Picture credit: Peter Cairns/Northshots

"Few Britons realise that they share these islands with a wild feline, fewer still realise that less than 400 are left alive in the Scottish Highlands and they could be gone forever within the next decade," explains wildlife filmmaker Steve Piper. The good news is that there’s now an organisation fighting for their cause - and Your Cat magazine has joined theme.

"The number of Scottish wildcats in the wild dwindles daily. Human persecution and road kills account for as many as 92 per cent of all deaths, while domestic ferals (estimated at around 100,000 in Scotland) are gradually cross-breeding and hybridizing the wildcat bloodline.

"Seeing this state of affairs, I got together with people who were already involved in trying to save the cat through captive breeding, eco tourism and public awareness, and formed a charity dedicated to their cause - the Scottish Wildcat Association.

Picture credit: Peter Cairns/Northshots

"Wildlife parks are now set to reinvigorate the captive breeding program although investment needs to be made in enclosures, and communication between breeders needs to be improved. The plan is to release wildcats back into the wild as it is the only certain insurance we have of keeping the species alive."

If you would like to help save this beautiful creature, click here to visit our donation page.

Useful contacts:

www.scottishwildcats.co.uk
www.wildwoodtrust.org

The conituning story about the wildcat appears in full in the June issue of Your Cat magazine.

Watch the documentary

Britain's wild cat; a preview length trailer for the wildlife / nature / current affairs documentary film Last of the Scottish Wildcats, investigating the imminent extinction of these beautiful cats, also known as the tigers of the Highlands. Full movie available to order on DVD now from award winning British independent film production company Coffee Films at www.coffeefilms.com/scottishwildcats