Frequently Asked Questions
Wild Card wants the country’s largest landowners to urgently address the climate and nature crisis by beginning ambitious rewilding schemes now. Our long-term vision is to see 50% of the country fully rewilded. Below are a few FAQs. We believe in open dialogue and discussion, if you have a question that you think we should be addressing here, please do email it to [email protected]
What is rewilding?
To rewild the land and water is to allow untamed life to return to ecosystems and landscapes, such that they are once again sustained by the natural processes that created them in the first place; allowing animals, plants, birds and the elements to shape our landscapes and habitats over time. In restoring these processes, human intervention may be initially required until the large-scale restoration of these ecosystems reaches the point where nature can take care of itself.
Restoration or leave it to nature? Exactly what type of rewilding do you advocate for?
This campaign looks to create a shift in how we use the land, our water and wildlife, but also how we consider it. Nature is not an infinite resource, but instead a complex network of processes that we are only a small part of. And yet, we have an enormous impact. In the dire state we find ourselves in, relinquishment and restoration are all steps towards a more sustainable future.
We are a campaign group that aims to increase awareness of and engagement with rewilding in the UK, both from the public and landowners. Using high profile campaigning, we aim to draw attention to the responsibility of landowners to properly care for their land, and create a buzz around the issue. Though we are informed by ecologists and scientists, we don't advise on exactly what rewilding or restoration solutions are applicable in each individual case. There are reams of talented and knowledgeable ecologists out there who can do that job far better than we can. Landowners who wisely decide to act on this issue should refer to these experts.
We are a campaign group that aims to increase awareness of and engagement with rewilding in the UK, both from the public and landowners. Using high profile campaigning, we aim to draw attention to the responsibility of landowners to properly care for their land, and create a buzz around the issue. Though we are informed by ecologists and scientists, we don't advise on exactly what rewilding or restoration solutions are applicable in each individual case. There are reams of talented and knowledgeable ecologists out there who can do that job far better than we can. Landowners who wisely decide to act on this issue should refer to these experts.
Why 50%?
Earth is out of balance. Biodiversity and habitat loss are happening across the globe and it’s accelerating like never before. The UK is one of the most wildlife depleted countries in the world. And globally about 1M species are threatened with extinction. We need to act now and drastically to avoid a total collapse of nature on these islands.
We must do everything we can to tackle this decline of wildlife and wilderness. These delicate systems impact everything around us, like the pollinators we so heavily rely on for growing food.
According to the eminent conservationist E. O. Wilson, if 50% of the planet is protected, 85% of the species will be protected from extinction. The more habitat disappears, the higher the proportion of species that will become extinct.
We must do everything we can to tackle this decline of wildlife and wilderness. These delicate systems impact everything around us, like the pollinators we so heavily rely on for growing food.
According to the eminent conservationist E. O. Wilson, if 50% of the planet is protected, 85% of the species will be protected from extinction. The more habitat disappears, the higher the proportion of species that will become extinct.
Haven't the Royals already promised to rewild their land?
Not really… Charles has been a long-term supporter of conservation and organic farming, which is commendable. There has been a peatlands restoration project at Balmoral Estate, with Scottish National Heritage, but we haven’t seen any long-term ventures into rewilding any of the estates so far.
If we rewild 50% of the UK, will there be any room left for food production?
Wild Card believes that with careful planning and the right policies the UK can restore its natural heritage without outsourcing its food production overseas to countries with lower environmental standards.
Contrary to popular belief, many areas of the UK are not suitable for food production. The Friends of the Earth woodland opportunity map initiative shows that we can double woodland cover in England without impacting on productive farmland (or existing landscapes that are critical to the environment, such as peatland or existing nature reserves, etc). The same principle applies for rewilding, which can be used to reforest areas naturally without the use of artificial tree planting. This process is known as “natural regeneration”.
Furthermore, an estimated 550,000 acres of England are “grouse moors” - non-agricultural upland areas that are used for the purpose of shooting grouse. Whilst these are occasionally grazed by sheep they do not produce food in any significant volumes. We know grouse shooting is a hot topic. Wild Card isn't in the business of telling people how to live their lives, we are just providing some objective facts. Large areas of the UK aren’t used for food production, so why not use them for nature?
Similarly, 50% of Scotland’s land area consists of uplands and moorlands, which again are less suitable for food production and contribute relatively small amounts to the UK’s food output. Why don’t we rewild these marginal areas, leaving the most productive areas for agriculture so that the UK is still able to meet its self-sufficiency targets?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year. That is one third of all food produced for human consumption. Meanwhile, more than 6 in 10 adults in the UK are estimated to be overweight or obese, leading to huge strains on our health services. This is linked to overconsumption of meat, which also requires much more land to produce compared with plant-based alternatives. We are not calling for anyone to go vegan. However, if we can make the UK’s food system smarter, reduce the amount of food wasted, and improve public health programs to encourage British people to shift to healthier diets, we can easily spare enough land for nature without the need to outsource our food production abroad.
Contrary to popular belief, many areas of the UK are not suitable for food production. The Friends of the Earth woodland opportunity map initiative shows that we can double woodland cover in England without impacting on productive farmland (or existing landscapes that are critical to the environment, such as peatland or existing nature reserves, etc). The same principle applies for rewilding, which can be used to reforest areas naturally without the use of artificial tree planting. This process is known as “natural regeneration”.
Furthermore, an estimated 550,000 acres of England are “grouse moors” - non-agricultural upland areas that are used for the purpose of shooting grouse. Whilst these are occasionally grazed by sheep they do not produce food in any significant volumes. We know grouse shooting is a hot topic. Wild Card isn't in the business of telling people how to live their lives, we are just providing some objective facts. Large areas of the UK aren’t used for food production, so why not use them for nature?
Similarly, 50% of Scotland’s land area consists of uplands and moorlands, which again are less suitable for food production and contribute relatively small amounts to the UK’s food output. Why don’t we rewild these marginal areas, leaving the most productive areas for agriculture so that the UK is still able to meet its self-sufficiency targets?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year. That is one third of all food produced for human consumption. Meanwhile, more than 6 in 10 adults in the UK are estimated to be overweight or obese, leading to huge strains on our health services. This is linked to overconsumption of meat, which also requires much more land to produce compared with plant-based alternatives. We are not calling for anyone to go vegan. However, if we can make the UK’s food system smarter, reduce the amount of food wasted, and improve public health programs to encourage British people to shift to healthier diets, we can easily spare enough land for nature without the need to outsource our food production abroad.
Is there a problem with rewilding being a way of landowners removing all access to their land?
We know that many landowners, including the royals, have opened up parts of their land for the public to enjoy, and we know how significant this has been in terms of people’s well-being and their understanding of the natural world. So we certainly aren’t talking about a fortress conservationism - which we know has been problematic internationally. What we would like to see more of is an idea of humans as part of nature and a need to work in balance with it rather than destroy it. We think in this sense landowners can learn a lot from those parts of the world where humans have worked in harmony with the land.
What about jobs? Won’t rewilding destroy livelihoods?
We acknowledge that farmers are in a terrible position. Most farmers have simply inherited a farming tradition that has slowly been destroying the health of the land for hundreds of years.
As technology and policy have ‘advanced’, farmers have been encouraged to discard old practices that naturally renewed the land and replace them with new, high yield techniques. Farmers are responding to a universal demand for ever cheaper, more plentiful food from land that is suffering the ravages of climate change.
If we don’t rejuvenate the depleted land and let dwindling pollinator numbers recover, there will be no more agriculture, no more life will be coaxed from the land, food production and land usage must change.
It is a very sad fact that farmers, after all the effort and love they put into feeding the people of this land at the government’s behest, are now finding themselves working in an unstable industry. Most farms run at a loss with subsidies keeping the profession alive, and farming is acknowledged as one of the most stressful and difficult jobs in the UK. Evidently something has to change and we need to seriously rethink food production and land usage, but we need to ensure that nobody is left behind. Wild Card believes in a just transition for all.
As technology and policy have ‘advanced’, farmers have been encouraged to discard old practices that naturally renewed the land and replace them with new, high yield techniques. Farmers are responding to a universal demand for ever cheaper, more plentiful food from land that is suffering the ravages of climate change.
If we don’t rejuvenate the depleted land and let dwindling pollinator numbers recover, there will be no more agriculture, no more life will be coaxed from the land, food production and land usage must change.
It is a very sad fact that farmers, after all the effort and love they put into feeding the people of this land at the government’s behest, are now finding themselves working in an unstable industry. Most farms run at a loss with subsidies keeping the profession alive, and farming is acknowledged as one of the most stressful and difficult jobs in the UK. Evidently something has to change and we need to seriously rethink food production and land usage, but we need to ensure that nobody is left behind. Wild Card believes in a just transition for all.
Won’t King Charles be at risk from being attacked by bears and wolves on royal estates?
LOL - It would take many years of intensive ecosystem restoration for viable reintroductions of these larger species to happen. King Charles is more likely to be mauled to death by angry beavers! For now, we need to focus on habitat restoration, and future generations can have these conversations about bears and wolves… if the monarchy still exists!
