Alyth Beaver Scouts ask: where's our Erica?
Members of a Perthshire Scout group are facing an anxious wait to find out the whereabouts of a beaver they have adopted as a mascot.
- By Sandra Gray
- Published in the Courier : 03.03.11
- Published online : 03.03.11 @ 11.51am
The Alyth Beaver Scouts had hoped to visit the animal, known as Erica, which was trapped by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in November on the River Ericht.
However the Scottish Wild Beaver Group believes that her location is being hidden after it received contradicting information from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
The organisation, which claims to have paid £80 to the RZSS to adopt the animal on behalf of the scout group, has expressed "outrage" at the lack of information.
Spokeswoman Louise Ramsay said, "Erica, as she is known, is now in the hands of the RZSS but it is not known where she is. We don't know if she is in Edinburgh Zoo, the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig or elsewhere.
"One message at the end of January told us that she might even be in Knapdale. After an anxious three-week wait, an email requesting information received a curt reply confirming that, while the RZSS is housing a beaver for SNH, it is not on public display."
Leader of the Alyth Beaver Scouts, Heather Jackson, said members of the group were "very disappointed" with this news.
She added, "They were all looking forward with great excitement to visiting their new mascot. We'd already priced the trip, set a date and sent out fund-raising quizzes for the boys to sell to help us afford to go."
A spokesman for the RZSS confirmed that they are housing a Tayside beaver on behalf of SNH and it is not on display to the public.
Photo by Flickr user Paul Stevenson.
02.50pm - 04.03.2011 Jeremy Goodwin - houston, USA Report This
I wonder who the SNH actually works for, it is not the benefit of the public, or even the idea of protecting the heritage of Scotland. For twenty years I have had curt replies, with little or no knowledge, reason or willingness to enter into a dialogue, they are the "authority".
Add a comment