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With barely a handful left, wildcats in Scotland are at risk of extinction. The only way to save them is to restore them into wild places where the threats they face are being mitigated. Your donation will fund vital equipment needed to release a new group of wildcats into the wild in 2024.
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Situation
Wildcats are one of the UK's rarest and most threatened mammals. Already lost from England and Wales, wildcats are now on the brink of extinction in Scotland. Habitat loss, persecution and interbreeding with domestic cats has brought the Highland tiger to a point where they were declared functionally extinct in 2019. The only hope for the species is to breed a new population of wildcats and release these animals into landscapes where actions are being taken to minimise the risks they face.
Solution
Led by RZSS, Saving Wildcats was founded in 2020. Thanks to support from many people, a dedicated wildcat Conservation Breeding for Release centre has been built at Highland Wildlife Park. In parallel, a field team assessed suitable release sites and are carrying out a continued programme of threat mitigation ahead of all releases into the Cairngorms National Park in 2023. Following this successful first release, the second release of wildcats into the wild can start in summer 2024!