All of them, please. I've no desire to come face to face with a bear, but I would 100% support their reintroduction if the land can support them. This was so exciting to read. What an amazing place the Peak District could be...
Thanks Joanna, and yes I ilked Alistair's comment about the likelihood of bears altering his walk plans, and he noted that people do still go out and enjoy bear country in other parts of the world. I'd be keen to hear what other readers think?
Having just come home after 28 years in the US, I can say that yes, people go out and enjoy bear country, but for those who aren't seasoned bear-country-enjoyers there can be a fair amount of stress when considering it! Still, there are rules to follow. 'Don't try to pet wildlife' is a good one, especially if the wildlife is a bear cub. Typically only the people who ignore the rules actually experience any danger or damage. I love the tip about singing in wolf country!
This is really positive and I would be very much pro all of these being reintroduced except with some reservations about bears... As someone with a young family, I would be apprehensive about going for a walk and encountering a bear, and would be sad to have to avoid certain areas of our beloved Peaks.
I also would like to see all of these animals reintroduced, simply because they have a right to be here just as much as we do! The anonymous commenter has a good point though about how wolves and bears may further discourage people from visiting. I admit the thought of encountering a bear makes me particularly nervous!
I’m an American living here in Sheffield and have visited several American national parks and wild spaces where you might encounter bears, mountain lions, etc. There are lots of rules in place and measures taken to ensure safety, and generally the animals tend to keep to themselves. There is a big difference though in the national parks of the US and the UK... obviously the US is so large that there is a lot of space for full on wilderness. There aren’t towns, villages, and people living in the parks (except for rangers) like there are here in the UK. It’s definitely tricky to determine how we can rewild while also keeping people safe.
From a reader- I suspect I'm not in step with most readers, but I really wouldn't support the re-introduction of things such as wolves and bears that make the countryside a more dangerous place.
Not only is there the obvious, around putting off people with kids and an unneccessary risk to human life but I think it provides an extra barrier to the countryside with middle class people more likely to know what to do than working class people. I often hear arguments from re-wilders that we need to introduce wolves as Britain's deer population is out of control, but the very same people are very opposed to deer hunting by humans. Surely this is a contradiction?
I'd be interested to hear how re-wilders think introducing predators such as wolves/bears make the countryside a safer and more accessible place?
All of them, please. I've no desire to come face to face with a bear, but I would 100% support their reintroduction if the land can support them. This was so exciting to read. What an amazing place the Peak District could be...
Thanks Joanna, and yes I ilked Alistair's comment about the likelihood of bears altering his walk plans, and he noted that people do still go out and enjoy bear country in other parts of the world. I'd be keen to hear what other readers think?
Having just come home after 28 years in the US, I can say that yes, people go out and enjoy bear country, but for those who aren't seasoned bear-country-enjoyers there can be a fair amount of stress when considering it! Still, there are rules to follow. 'Don't try to pet wildlife' is a good one, especially if the wildlife is a bear cub. Typically only the people who ignore the rules actually experience any danger or damage. I love the tip about singing in wolf country!
This is really positive and I would be very much pro all of these being reintroduced except with some reservations about bears... As someone with a young family, I would be apprehensive about going for a walk and encountering a bear, and would be sad to have to avoid certain areas of our beloved Peaks.
I also would like to see all of these animals reintroduced, simply because they have a right to be here just as much as we do! The anonymous commenter has a good point though about how wolves and bears may further discourage people from visiting. I admit the thought of encountering a bear makes me particularly nervous!
I’m an American living here in Sheffield and have visited several American national parks and wild spaces where you might encounter bears, mountain lions, etc. There are lots of rules in place and measures taken to ensure safety, and generally the animals tend to keep to themselves. There is a big difference though in the national parks of the US and the UK... obviously the US is so large that there is a lot of space for full on wilderness. There aren’t towns, villages, and people living in the parks (except for rangers) like there are here in the UK. It’s definitely tricky to determine how we can rewild while also keeping people safe.
From a reader- I suspect I'm not in step with most readers, but I really wouldn't support the re-introduction of things such as wolves and bears that make the countryside a more dangerous place.
Not only is there the obvious, around putting off people with kids and an unneccessary risk to human life but I think it provides an extra barrier to the countryside with middle class people more likely to know what to do than working class people. I often hear arguments from re-wilders that we need to introduce wolves as Britain's deer population is out of control, but the very same people are very opposed to deer hunting by humans. Surely this is a contradiction?
I'd be interested to hear how re-wilders think introducing predators such as wolves/bears make the countryside a safer and more accessible place?