AS news breaks of yet another tagged eagle lost to satellite tracking in
the Monadhliath mountains (“RSPB fears golden eagle is latest victim of
‘raptor persecution'”, The Herald, August 11), I am left wondering how it
is that the Scottish Government can leap to the defence of eagles, with
stern words for the grouse shooting industry and promises of an
investigation, while the ink is still drying on the paperwork that will
pave the way for a massive 67-turbine wind farm the size of Inverness on
those same Monadhliath mountains, one of Scotland’s last remaining places
of true wildness and a haven for wildlife, including eagles.
The Scottish Government and SSE recently won their appeal to have consent
for Stronelairg reinstated after an earlier ruling had found in favour of
wild land charity John Muir Trust, which had sought a judicial review to
halt the project. Government ministers argued successfully that
“safeguarding” wild land does not mean protecting it from
industrialisation; it simply means that measures will be taken to mitigate
the impact of wind farm developments in those areas.
If the Scottish Government is truly committed to protecting Scotland’s wild
land resource, would it please explain to the rest of us how its
much-vaunted Wild Land Map (from which the Stronelairg area mysteriously
disappeared on the eve of publication) can have any credibility when the
same Government is actively engaged in promoting the destruction of remote
upland areas and key wildlife habitats across Scotland?
Last time I looked there were no walls or fences in the sky to stop eagles
moving from one section of airspace over the Monadhliath to another. The
Stronelairg decision sets an ominous precedent for the treatment of wild
land in Scotland. It is a far greater threat to the future of our eagle
population than grouse moors ever could be.
Jane Meek,
74 Glasgow Road, Blanefield.
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