Angus estates accredited for wildlife and conservation work

The WES accreditations were presented by HRH The Princess Royal and Dr Mike Cantlay OBE, NatureScot chairman.

Dalhousie Estates has again been awarded an international accreditation for its work in wildlife management and conservation.

Along with Rottal Estate in Glen Clova, Dalhousie Estates was reaccredited to Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES), a national version of the EU Wildlife Estates (WE) initiative and is endorsed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General Environment, whose objective is to protect, preserve and improve the environment for present and future generations.

A total of 15 Scottish farms and estates – accounting for more than 211,000 acres – recently received the awards at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair, from HRH The Princess Royal and Dr Mike Cantlay OBE, NatureScot chairman.

Scotland currently sits second in the league table of Wildlife Estates-accredited land on 1.25 million acres, with only Spain ahead on approximately 1.6 million acres.

WES aims to double the accredited land to 2.5 million acres by 2023.

Between them, WES-accredited landholdings have stewardship of 97 nationally protected sites including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and National Nature Reserves (NNR), as well as 79 internationally designated sites of importance.