We are a new charitable organisation with the aim of conserving the unique Scottish wildcat. We hope to acheive this primarily through an ongoing series of awareness campaigns about this charismatic feline, and through liaison and support of other organisations carrying out research and work condusive to the future of the wildcat in Scotland.
The Scottish wildcat has never had a dedicated organisation to champion it's cause as one of the UK's most exciting wildlife species; only a disappointing fraction of the UK population outside of the Highlands are even aware of their existence. We aim to change that forever and involve people of all ages and interests in saving and protecting our last large land predator.
At present we are in the final stages of charity incorporation and through sheer public demand have opened this website early for people to browse and learn more about the wildcat from. Upon full incorporation we will be opening for membership and launching our first year of campaigns which will be revealed in full on this website and through the general media.
We hope you will call back often, learn about these wonderful creatures and support our cause.
The Trustees
Our Trustees
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Steve Piper
Wildlife filmmaker Steve Piper became involved in Scottish wildcats whilst filming the documentary Last of the Scottish Wildcats. Steve has a background in corporate marketing and directs a media company specialising in wildlife, music and dramatic films, music management and design. He is currently working on documentary projects in Mongolia, Botswana and Scotland focusing on small cat species for which he has a particular fondness.
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Our Patrons
We will be naming our patrons in the very near future.
Our History
The Association was established in 2008 but had been building in spirit for some time; perhaps as far back as Mike Tomkies books in the 1970's that first identified the wildcat not as some hissing demon, but as an inspiring survivor and emblem of the wildest lands in Britain.
In 2000 Highland meteorologist Allan Paul and his wife, inspired by the books of Mike Tomkies, began to breed wildcats in captivity. Finding no formal structure for breeding the cats Allan took up the duty as studbook keeper and inherited a rather out of date and poorly kept set of records, as well as several suspect looking wildcats.
It quickly became clear that the captive breeding population was heavily hybridised with domestic cat genes and Allan began working with Dr Andrew Kitchener of the National Museums of Scotland, a recognised expert and devotee to the wildcat species, to identify the wildcats actually fit for breeding to start rebuilding the captive population. Sadly, only about 20% of the 50 strong population were considered suitable for breeding and none were considered pure, some parks and breeders simply ignored Allan's requests for information and it became clear that helping these cats would always be an uphill struggle.
Seven years later the studbook stood close to perfect with interested wildlife parks actively keeping records to date, and Allan had successfully bred a number of cats all to breeding standard, his last litter included the first two cats to be graded as a "1" in the studbook; museum standard pure wildcat in all respects.
Early in 2007 Allan decided to retire from wildcat duties handing over the studbook to the excellent captive breeding program at Howlett's Wildlife Park in England. One of his last acts was to put together the basis of this charity with the wildlife filmmaker Steve Piper who had become involved in the cause shooting a documentary on the threatened extinction of the species.
Steve continued to develop the association with wildlife photographer and Highland tourism operator Peter Cairns and the Association rapidly drew interest from wildlife photographers, filmmakers, naturalists, hobbyists and scientists keen for a formal structure to move along conservation efforts before it became too late.
