Rewilding the Scottish Highlands | ARTE.tv Documentary

Change is afoot in the Scottish Highlands. In an effort to fight climate change, some wealthy landowners want to rewild their huge estates, They are convinced that the Highlands will then be able to absorb more carbon.
Rewilding the Scottish Highlands | ARTE.tv Documentary
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[@artetvdocumentary]

Did you enjoy this documentary? 😎 WATCH NEXT: Irish Modern Druids - kzbin.info/www/bejne/anSToKt_iruLppI

[@WarHogz]

The commentary is far too biased. It seeks to pit sides against each other and colour the views of the watchers with unnecessary statements like “befitting their rank”.

[@abcdjkx]

There would be no need for reforestation projects or deer culling if you simply brought back the native predators, Lynx and wolves. Hunting estates and managed moorlands have their place but they should make up a small % of the land and be outweighed by much larger rewilded areas.

[@BrokenBackMountains]

Im Scottish and have been hillwalkingand backpacking for over 4 decades. The Highlands may look beautiful but it is actually a desert. There are too many deer, too few remnants of the Caledonian forest. It is also a place denuded of people. When you are up in the hills and look down into the Glens you can see runrigs, ruined crofts and Rowan trees. Those hunting estates are a symbol of privilege and the clearances. I for one think the lairds both traditional and green own too much of our land.

[@dianagreen7920]

Agreed

[@boxtradums0073]

Generations of English people stripping our lands and ethnically cleansing our people but now the people are largely gone they want to restore the land 🤣

[@BrokenBackMountains]

​@@boxtradums0073Enough of those Lairds are home grown. They just sound English due to their schooling. It was Scottish Laird's that cleared our ancestors.

[@boxtradums0073]

@@BrokenBackMountains they are English mate what part of Scotland does that accent come from and like you alluded to they’ve liked been brought up in England. Not some were our lairds that cleared our ancestors many were English too but let’s not forget they were backed by English troops violently clearing our ancestors. This should be an all Scotland affair not lead by the oppressors whose assent and talent stripped us for over 300 years.

[@BrokenBackMountains]

@@boxtradums0073 Sorry mate but you are naive if you think Scottish Laird's didn't take part in the clearances. Look it up. And today many are Scottish with a public school education. Go and listen to Lochiel or Mac Cailean mor or the Duke of Atholl. All, English accented Scots. Scots have always been ready to put the boot in to their fellow Scots, especially the high heid yin's. Remember

[@stuartiles5380]

Bring back the lynx it’s not rocket science

[@Twitch760]

Agreed predators all need to be reintroduced to keep deer populations in balance.

[@johnwilliams7653]

The last things we need are rockets. Protect the Mhoine!

[@tartytube]

I believe thats the plan and there are many, many folk trying to achieve that. A few other keystone species too.

[@Jonas-uh7bb]

That rich man is right: these projects give us young people hope, we just need many more of these 🙏

[@ColinMaxwell-oc1ok]

Young people have been brainwashed by the climate changes scam pushed by most of the corrupt governments in the West to tax the people more

[@boxtradums0073]

He’s an old English bigot

[@davidpenman1105]

Why does this documentary repeatedly refer to Jeremy Leggat as an (English) "green laird", and only mention briefly in the last minute that he has attracted others in this venture? A quick look at the Highlands Rewilding website will show that there are over 800 shareholders (many of them Scottish like me!), with no-one having more than 13% of the shares.

[@michealomainin]

I found it strange that most people in this doc were English alright. There was like one Scottish guy.

[@stephencrowther524]

@@michealomainin Not all Scots have a Scottish accent !

[@boxtradums0073]

@@stephencrowther524aye right enough they only have a foreign accent how could they be foreign

[@stevensibbet5869]

Wow! Scotland Is looking good these days, it never looked like that when I went there 48 years ago. It was just bare rock, fabulous mountains, but just bare, no trees!

[@pdterre5496]

The hunting is very different from my Nordic country. The two men standing with hands in pocket, shirt and tie, waiting for the assistants to fetch the deer says all.

[@jamesmcdonnell5617]

No where did they show 'field dressing' for example. In North America, you cannot bring back a tonne weight stag if you are in a high chapparal - which you most certainly are Not ins Scotland so the point may be moot so you strategically butcher what is edible. Mother Nature will take care of the rest.

[@stevensibbet5869]

🤣

[@rhyde0731]

Love seeing the regenerative farming approach!

[@vidibites]

"Fitting their rank" the game keepers fetch the dead stag…. I think this highlights everything that is wrong with deer estates. Bring in the green lairds.

[@rb9580]

What's the difference between two guys collecting the dead deer that the rich owner shoots versus two guys planting the trees that the rich owner buys? Neither is exactly in the subsistence farmer category. One was born and raised locally and has a multi-generational interest in his land, the other is a recent arrival who has not yet had time to show whether he really has a long-term interest in his adopted community. One is dependent on income from the estate while the other can rely on money earned elsewhere. One is providing permanent jobs locally and downstream, while the other is using short-term contractors. The whole debate is much more nuanced than "bring in the green lairds".

[@vidibites]

@@rb9580 Fair point. To be honest I’d prefer to see the same land divided up by smallholders (instead of these large parcels that only millionaires can afford), rural enterprises areas and more opportunities for normal folk.

[@rb9580]

@@vidibites That we can agree on! 🙂

[@lisadolan689]

Agreed. These pair turn my stomach. 🤮 Hunting out of necessity to put food on the table, is acceptable. Hunting for sport is sickening.

[@rb9580]

@@lisadolan689 Yes, but THEIR sport is MY food. I buy venison from my local butcher, who buys it from the deer larders of the local shooting estates. The estate gets its income, the butcher gets its income, I get my curry with very low food miles and the whole transaction has resulted in Dutch money now circulating and remaining in our local economy in the Highlands.

[@thorium222]

Why do they act as if hunting deer for sport is better than culling them to appropriate numbers? The important thing for me is that the meat does not go to waste, as I would find this unbelievable disrespectful.

[@molecatcher3383]

The shot deer are eaten by people.

[@FrancisAzzopardi-s6g]

99​@@molecatcher3383

[@RussTillling]

The cost of fencing is expensive. Plastic deer tree guards are polluting? A large-scale, diverse, nature-rich environment, which can still support local economies, is best.

[@boxtradums0073]

What they are doing is essentially reseeding for decades to come. Expenses now to make it a self sustaining loop

[@Leighside]

There must have been some discussions about reintroducing predators into the landscape. Ie wolves. Is this a non starter?

[@richiedd4119]

Easy to get on top of deer without wolves and make money the same time.

[@mirandalanghout1923]

Please do not introduce wolves. So much suffering on the mainland of Europe. No one is benefitting: not the wolves, not the ‘wild’ animals that will be killed, not the livestock, not the people.

[@stephencrowther524]

There’s some talk about re-introducing Lynx.

[@stijngeus6061]

@@mirandalanghout1923 the natural forests that scotland still has do not have the chance to regenerate because of overgrazing by mostly deer, as hunters cant seem to keep up with the growing population reintroducing predators will be essential to combat this, the ecosystems are way out of balance and are not getting the chance to recover

[@elanmcmillin3294]

I think the fear is that the wolves would hunt sheep instead of deer. Sheep are a much easier prey.

[@garethbelk4065]

im a wolf biologist with alot of experence in both europe and america, from what ive seen of scotland theres far to many deer, leaving regeneration almost impossible, anything that does grow is quickly eaten even when put in the anti deer sleeves, the deer need to be culled to a sensible level, well over half before any regeneration can take place, the same applies for the rest of the UK, no predators to speak of and that will never change due to the farmers and landowners lobby, The UK is the only part of europe that hasnt seen any repopulation and that wont change, sorry

[@BMC-hl2uh]

Ditto Ireland.

[@domtweed7323]

We need wolves and lynx back.

[@mackrobertson2187]

Could do much better with a Scots narrator!

[@boxtradums0073]

And a Scottish millionaire not some Englishman

[@kingy002]

Please try and take much more out of this than just arriving at that sort of complaint!

[@Elizabeth912-v6o]

Kenya has a similar project they're dropping thousands and thousands of seed balls every year!!! Because Kenya is not supposed to be a Barren desert!!!!!!

[@HammerinWA]

Good to see the British finally doing some work. They’ve just sat around since clearing the highlanders out.

[@marianfrances4959]

And that's just one location they messed up!

[@veronicaroach3667]

Hey don't blame all of us British - it's the snooty "high class" levels that are the problem - for you guys & for all of the rest of us ! It's been destruction of anything & everything in their way for centuries - world wide. So at least some things are getting fixed - lovely ! Hope you get to enjoy your new woodlands ! Actually the world's biggest single problem is the sheer number of humans on this planet - these issues would be minimal if we were at our natural levels, but that would mean letting natural causes take us down to that level & we've changed the game on that score. Now we have to live with what we are doing to our lovely blue dot !

[@pixelfrenzy]

You do know that 'British' means the English, Welsh AND the Scots, right?

[@robertneven7563]

what a nice and bauetifull video , grts from Belguim the Ardennes

[@artetvdocumentary]

We're glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@ianspingle8865]

Scotland definitely needs much more forest ,predators are also desperately needed to ensure that they grow. 🐺🐆🌱🌳🌲

[@aa-xg3ct]

England next?

[@taralown7023]

These people need to look at what the Canadians have done with these exact issues. They should hire a whole bunch of Canadian tree planters, they are the world experts on mass eating trees over vast watch of hybrid lands in a short period of time. Deer overpopulation are a massive issue in parts of Canada as well, and we've put them on deer birth control ({instead of killing them) and it's drastically lowered the population in areas that are needed - no need to kill parts of the environment to help other parts of it. It's supposed to work together.

[@robertneven7563]

indeed

[@Leighside]

Tree planting is not about rewinding areas after clear cutting but about replanting a monoculture for the next harvest. So no I don’t think we are a good example of how to do it.

[@samoday2992]

This is terrible. Not one of these landowners is Scottish. Give us back our land

[@robertoneven2803]

@@samoday2992 you arericht, mliloinaiars are a pain in the ass

[@Eggyfart83]

Lots of brilliant trees planting teams in Scotland I do it myself, just wish we had the Canadian wildlife but sadly we killed all the lynx, bear and wolves. I would love to see them come back to Scotland

[@lisadolan689]

The deforestation of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is staggering. I can’t imagine how it could ever be fixed. At least some are trying

[@Debbie-henri]

In defence of these 'Green Lairds,' my neighbour is one such, currently restoring more bits of woodland all across his land - just as I rewild my large garden so it can link one neighbour's woodland with another. Rather than threaten hunting, rewilding has served to improve it, and my neighbour is doing as well by it as he ever did. He has pheasant and deer ranging over all of it. There are wood pigeons, geese and duck as an 'opportunity shot.' And he has snipe, sometimes partridge in the marshy bits where trees wouldn't grow even if you let them. I suppose he could put grouse right up on the very high, exposed moor, but the hunters are perfectly happy with everything else. They follow the little paths and trails through the woodlands that have been planted, I've rigged up a couple of rough little hides, that have since been copied by the gamekeeper (so they must have seen the sense in them). I doubt Green Lairds are going to impact hunting at all. It's knowing 'how' to adapt to a new environment and make the most of it. When I see rewilding projects, I see financial opportunities in all sorts of ways, which is only one of the reasons why I started to do the same in my own garden (which is tiny compared to my neighbours, but it has the potential to earn me a small living in the future).

[@stevensibbet5869]

I am like that guy at Mar lodge, I do wonder if all that planting is necessary. if you just fence off the area it will recover, give it 30 to 60 years then you can open it up again.

[@koholohan3478]

Rewild via predator reintroduction.

[@idig76]

Why can't we have both hunting and forests? They aren't exclusive of each other. I would have liked to see more about how the two can co-exist. I liked this documentary, but there was obvious bias and class baiting comments that detract from honest discussion.

[@PrinceWalacra]

No way that people can manage the herbivore population. Shooting animals itself doesn’t solve overgrazing. Their populations will always be in a potential exponential growth state because there’s plenty of food for those animals. In Yellowstone park the introduction of wolves was the solution for regeneration of natural systems because herbivores were avoiding some place and the forest did recuperate. Scotland needs wolves to be in its full glory again.

[@marcknight4568]

Smartly said. 😊😊😊

[@Elizabeth912-v6o]

Now i can say as an American!!!!!!! To disregard, trampled on and ignore the native locals! Is never a good idea and I do not care to ever exist in a society where only super rich landowners are allowed to hunt that is f****** insane to me!!!!!!😮😮😮😮😮

[@marcknight4568]

Where I live, the saplings never get out of the ground yard

[@Norse94]

Put a small round fence around the young trees. That will help protect them from deer. That’s what we do in Africa.

[@kaRot_0620]

Kudos to you mister! Hope that your fellowmen will join you to plant more trees in your country. Hunting as a sport? To me it is a boring sport, why not engage to tree planting as a sport in that way, aside as helping the ecosystem you'll sweat a lot which is good for your health.

[@maggietaskila8606]

All Scotland needs is more millionaire Englishman moving into change Scotland , we know what happend the last time they decided indigenous Scots couldn't manage the land. If your going to cull the deer don't just waste them feed the hungry . Then open a season .

[@molecatcher3383]

The deer are not wasted, they are eaten. And I agree that there are too many millionaire foreigners (including English) taking over Scotland.

[@cliveclerkenville2637]

Context : the United Nations is an exclusive fine dining club based in New York. Its members are very well paid for sitting around and talking. They also enjoy lavish expense accounts and free luxury accommodation. Western tax payers foot the bills.

[@davidmacfarlane4263]

I would like to know what happens to all those culled deer? I'm sure they aren't left just to rot. After all: There are no vultures nor other large scavengers to feed on them. And the answer is:

[@MsRedjay]

According to Forestry and Land Scotland (government website), 97% of the culled deer is sold as venison

[@treesagreen4191]

Sold to the public/restaurants as venison

[@sola84]

Dog food would be a big one.

[@johnwilliams7653]

We eat them. Venison is delicious as part of a diet balanced with oatcakes & a dram.

[@johnslater1460]

"You're never going to change their minds". That goes back to the debate about climate change. Perhaps they should both yhink back to The Clearances. Is there no place for coming to agreement?

[@johnwilliams7653]

No. Capitalism is wrong in any age. Profit from sheep over people was wrong in the early 19th century & remains so now. Either humanity mends its ways or goes extinct: negotiation with rampant capitalism is never a solution.

[@johnwilliams7653]

We need balance: some predators, some moorland, some pasture including in-by land, some bogs, some deer, some trees including some commercial timber, some cattle, some oats & barley, some stills, some people, even some lairds. No monoculture, no motorhomes, no introduced species, be they sheep or extremist green lairds feeling entitled by obscene wealth. If people want to buy into the highlands they should seek to integrate, not dominate or desecrate.

[@marianfrances4959]

White shirt and tie for hunting? 😳

[@edwardbisset2624]

Wait till the beavers get in there as their new trees won’t last five minutes when they get started

[@hoggybhoy1967]

They crew that shot the stags are creepy 💯

[@jenmu7870]

👍👍👍

[@shoesandahs]

They need to feed the deer and put birth control in the food

[@garrettgeringer1278]

Deer-forestation

[@WSFScotland]

Interesting documentary... I'm all for replanting mixed woodland and deer culling. Reading some of the comments on here about introducing predators... really??? I hardly see how adding another long absent species is going to benefit things. The advantage for one species after reintroduction is very rarely shared by others. Also, there's no mention about what happened to the culled deer. I can only assume that they were processed for consumption. I certainly hope so...

[@samoday2992]

This is terrible! None of these people are Scottish . Give is back our land

[@stephencrowther524]

Nobody “gives” anything to anyone,including Scott’s to each other !😂

[@samoday2992]

@@stephencrowther524 should just take it back.

[@deersbrook4485]

The UK, including Scotland is being invaded by thousands of immigrants and you're worried about a few English people? You should get your priorities right!

[@samoday2992]

@@deersbrook4485 kick them all out including the new immigrants.

[@johnwilliams7653]

@@deersbrook4485 Immigrants may be welcomed: the English? Not so much.

[@glassdaft]

7 minutes in and I find this fairly patronising. ‘Leave Curious’. Is a much better KZbin channel exploring this subject. PS are you sure that oat milk 🤦‍♀️ doesn’t have chlormequat in it?

[@tikkathreebarrels]

Millionaires and Englishmen coming into the Highlands to transform a wild but managed landscape into a ......wild and managed landscape?

[@modero6370]

"harmful influence of humans". Everything influences everything. Why do we talk about ourselves like a cancer?

[@molecatcher3383]

Climate change is a natural process that never stops and planting trees, or driving electric cars, will make very little difference to how it happens. However planting trees is good for nature and it looks wonderful. There are far too many deer and their numbers must be brought down massively if the woods are to come back.

[@dragoonzen]

lol, Japan has the same problems! Too much deer and no one willing to control their disaster populations.

[@marianasalles242]

Sadism and sort of psychopathy shooting/killing innocent beings

[@marianasalles242]

💚🌏✨🙏🏻

[@philippesails4973]

Another work or arte paid by taxes that could be sum up in one paragraph taking 5 minutes to write, 1 to read.

[@debwhit5408]

Interesting how many posh English accents thrre are here.

[@hoggybhoy1967]

All English own our land?

[@johnwilliams7653]

They think. Reality is the land will deal with us all, the English included, in its own way & time.

[@2809johnny888]

HUNTER MURDERERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@matttty7064]

All this rewinding is a disgrace

[@TheDalaiLamaCon]

Armospheric CO2 is plant food. Extrapolate.

[@666bruv]

There is plenty of plant food, not enough feeders

[@Red-Robin4]

I’m sorry but killing the deer for either damn reason is wrong period!!!

[@rustyrelicsfarm2406]

The Deer are eating the saplings of the trees. That inhibits growth you numpty.

[@georgeriddell9356]

It’ll never happen the folk are freart

[@gilbert7794]

Please please stop with the CO2 lies, we are at a 600,000 year low on CO2 and if it had gone the opposite direction from the 1980’s where it was 0.03% down to 0.02% all life would have died out luckily CO2 has risen to 0.04% but needs to be far higher.