Environment Life

Wildcats could return to England

Admin

November 19, 2025
3 min read

One of Britain’s most critically endangered mammals, wildcats, could make a comeback to England conservationists have said. The South West Wildcat Project hopes to bring back 50 of the mammals from 2028 after a study discovered that the mid-Devon countryside could see them “flourish.”

Reintroduction plans come after a scheme to increase wildcat numbers in Scotland, but there are some who are concerned that carnivores could threaten poultry, gamebirds, and native bird species. There are also fears of wildcats cross-breeding with domestic cats.

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If the risk is not tackled, plans for a genetically pure wildcat population being sustained are “doomed to failure,” the Countryside Alliance has warned. The South West Wildlife Project, led by Devon Wildlife Trust, said that independent research from the University of Exeter showed 80% of people were optimistic about the reintroduction.

European wildcats were once widespread around Great Britain. But habitat destruction and human persecution, with people seeing them as pests, saw their numbers plummet in England and Wales. The only remaining population today lives in the Scottish Highlands. Despite protected status since 1988, they are classified as critically endangered and at a risk of extinction from the UK. Only around 115 animals remain in the wild.

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